Police conduct massive cordon-and-search operations in Puttaparthi

Puttaparthi: In view of the upcoming Sri Sathya Sai Baba Centenary (Shata Jayanti) celebrations, the Sri Sathya Sai District Police conducted an extensive cordon-and-search operation across several localities in Puttaparthi on Friday.

The operation was led by District SP S Satish Kumar, with the objective of tightening security and preventing any criminal activities during the large-scale festivities.

A total of 5 DSPs, 15 CIs, 25 SIs, and about 250 police personnel participated in the operation conducted in Karnatakanagepalli, Pedda Bazaar, Sai Nagar, Chitravathi, and Prasanthi Grama areas.

Police teams inspected every house, surrounding premises, and tenants, verifying details of persons arriving from other states and countries. The houses of rowdy-sheeters, suspects, and previous offenders were also checked. Authorities seized 50 vehicles that lacked proper number plates or ownership documents. SP Satish Kumar warned rowdy-sheeters and counselled known offenders. He urged citizens to stay vigilant and report any suspicious individuals in view of the heavy influx of devotees expected from various regions. The SP said the department used drone cameras, body-worn cameras, mobile scanning devices, and fingerprint scanners during the operation. Lodges were instructed to collect complete ID details of all guests before allotting rooms.

He further announced that strict drunk-and-drive checks, continuous surveillance, and intensified night patrols will continue in the coming days.