Malicious elements lurking in the virtual world will now have to face a stringent sentry in Jharkhand in the form of State’s first Cyber Crime Police Station. After years of wait and within five months of nudge by Chief Minister Raghubar Das in this direction, the modern police station began operations on Monday.
The cyber crime police station, set up under the aegis of Criminal Investigation Department (CID), will investigate cases of cyber fraud involving monetary loss above Rs2 lakh and will provide technical support in cases with losses below the aforementioned denomination to police stations across the State. Cyber crimes extending beyond the State boundaries will also be dealt by the police station.
Cyber crime victims can register their complaints in the conventional manner by visiting the police station or from the comfort of their homes through sending an email to cyberps@jhpolice.gov.in or by dialling 100. Based on the content of the complaint, a First Information Report (FIR) or a report will be registered.
The police station will be manned by a Officer in-Charge (a DSP-rank official), a Chief Technical Officer, Technical Officer, two Inspectors, three Sub-Inspectors, and two computer operators and constables each. Equipment-wise, these officials will use advanced cyber forensic tools capable of collecting digital clues directly from the crime scene as well as analysing them.
Inaugurating the police station, Director General of Police DK Pandey said, “Numerous cases of cyber crimes have been occurring in the State, but the plaintiffs were unaware of where to report their grievances. Our police personnel on the ground were not well-versed either with the nuances of the digital crimes as well. legislations pertaining to the issue have been adopted by Jharkhand in black and white but with the cyber crime police station, people now have a proper place to come to with their grievances.”
In a presentation on cyber crime scenario in Jharkhand, Pandey was informed about district-wise incidence of cases in the State totalling to 221 cases in 2015. Ranchi topped the charts with 59 cases, along with East Singhbhum, Hazaribagh, Giridih, Deoghar and Jamtara were pointed out as districts where highest numbers of cyber crimes were registered.
“Rise in number of cases does not translate as ineffectiveness of police force. More cases registered increases our workload but also puts us in a better position to apprehend the wrongdoers,” the DGP added.
A small but significant step in its stand against cyber crime, the cyber thana is already looking after eight cases taken from various districts of the State.
Enumerating the available resources, a presentation was shown in presence of the DGP, enlisting the requirements of the police station too in terms of machinery and manpower, including establishing cyber cell in every district, acquiring some more machinery for the thana and strengthening it in near future. Along with it, future course of action was also listed.
“A plan has been chalked out for creating trained workforce. The first phase of the training is complete under which we have trained two officials for every district in handling cyber crime. Next phase will begin shortly,” Inspector General (CID) Sampat Meena stated.
A series of initiatives to sensitise the masses as a measure to prevent cyber crimes will also be put into place. Workshops are being conducted in educational institutions and the dos and don’ts when using the internet or related services have been put up at our website, Meena added.
“We will be imparting training in fundamental cyber forensics and measures to the schoolchildren. Meetings with banking institutions, telecom service providers and internet service providers will also be held to inform them about their duties in keeping cyber crimes and frauds at bay,” said CID SP Jaya Roy.