E-fraudsters, beware! Maharashtra plans cybercrime labs across state

MUMBAI: Alarmed over a sudden spurt in cyber crime cases, the government will set up state-of-the-art cyber crime laboratories in all districts across the state.
A senior bureaucrat said that a budgetary provision has been made and the process of setting up the cyber crime laboratories at district headquarters and at police commissioner offices has begun. “We expect to complete the exercise in a time-bound manner,” this bureaucrat told TOI.
He said that it had been found that despite the benefits of information technology having percolated to the common man, there have also been a spurt in cases of hacking and in releasing of objectionable pictures on social media websites, thus resulting in a law-and-order problems.
“There has been abuse of information technology to cheat common people. Economic offences have been on the rise. Even anti-social elements have used technology to spread hatred,” said the bureaucrat. “So, it was felt that law-enforcing agencies would be able to tackle cyber crimes better if the laboratories are set up.”
During the winter session of Parliament, when Lok Sabha member Poonam Mahajan sought information on cyber crime, she was told that Maharashtra leads in the number of cases (919) over the last three years, followed by Andhra Pradesh (883) and Karnataka (716).
The bureaucrat also said that due to greater awareness, aggrieved persons were approaching law-enforcing agencies and the state information technology department. “Maharashtra was the first state to set up an independent cyber crime police station. The response has been encouraging, as many have lodged criminal cases,” he said.
About cyber crime laboratories, the bureaucrat said that the home department has said that hardware and software should be of high quality. “The industries department has prescribed guidelines to procure material to set up such labs. There will be no compromise on quality of material,” he said.
A home department official said that since a cyber crime police station has been set up and cyber crime laboratories are on the cards, quick measures must be taken to set up special courts for time-bound disposal of cases. “We should have special courts to try offences under the Information Technology Act. Also, the Indian Computer Response Team-In centre should be set up in Mumbai. Fadnavis has written to the Centre to set up CERT, but there has been no response so far,” he said.