Vadodara/Surat: For decades, devotees have turned to Lord Ganesha to remove obstacles.Now, police want him to help remove another modern-day menace — cyber fraud.Police in Padra have taken the idea a step further, portraying Ganesha as a police officer seated before a laptop.The popular pandal, located next to the Padra police station, has three LED screens displaying information about different cyber frauds, along with dos and don’ts and ways to report scams. Police personnel are also interacting with devotees and answering their queries, with special focus on senior citizens who are often targeted by digital-arrest and OTP fraudsters.“Thousands visit the pandal daily for darshan. This year, we decided to blend the festivities with cyber awareness and online safety, which has become a major concern,” said Padra police inspector P V Gohil.“Many people, especially senior citizens, are duped online and lose their hard-earned money. We conduct awareness campaigns, but this time Vadodara SP Sushil Agrawal guided us on educating devotees visiting the Ganesh pandal,” Gohil said.The messages are displayed in English and Gujarati, while the pandal has been designed to resemble the cyber world. Police are also distributing leaflets on cyber dos and don’ts. The seven-day celebration may be extended to 10 days in view of the response, police said.In Surat, the ‘Cyber Vighnaharta’ installation lets devotees ask Ganesha questions about online scams and learn how to avoid becoming victims.The interactive idol, equipped with a screen and microphone, allows devotees to ask questions about cyber fraud and get answers on how to stay safe.“We have installed a Ganesh idol with a screen and mike. Devotees can interact with Ganesh and get answers to their queries,” said DCP (Cybercrime) Bishakha Jain.The awareness initiative goes beyond the idol. Devotees walk through a ‘Cyber Gully’, where colourful graphics explain common scams, including QR-code and UPI fraud, digital arrest, OTP and APK fraud, KYC scams, task fraud and phishing.For children and youngsters, police have created ‘Snakes & Ladders – Cyber Awareness Game’. Falling victim to fraud is depicted as a snake, while awareness and safe online practices take players up a ladder.Devotees can also take a ‘Cyber Sankalp’, pledging before Ganesha not to share OTPs or passwords, click on unknown links or fall for suspicious online offers.The ‘prasad’ too comes with a twist. Instead of sweets, devotees receive a leaflet carrying cyber-safety tips — with the message that awareness can make life ‘sweeter’ by keeping fraudsters away.
