Five dedicated cyber police stations in Chhattisgarh to probe cybercrimes

Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], May 7 : Chhattisgarh Police will be establishing cyber police stations in five ranges of the state to prevent and investigate cybercrimes, including online financial frauds, cyberbullying and others.

Amid increasing cases of online forgeries, cyberbullying and other cybercrimes, one dedicated cyber police station each will be established in Raipur, Durg, Bilaspur, Jagdalpur and Surguja police ranges.

As per the information, the administrative approval in this connection has been received and preparations for the establishment of these police stations at the earliest are ongoing.

"For cyber police stations in ranges, 120 posts have been approved to deal with the cases of cybercrimes. The first cyber police stations in the state will be established in Police Headquarters in Raipur wherein high-profile cases will be probed", said Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Kavi Gupta, elaborating that the police stations in ranges will investigate the cases from districts.

Shedding more details about this initiative, ASP Gupta informed that apart from the investigation, the police station in PHQ here will be utilized as a training centre for offering training to the police personnel and officials to investigate the matter. A large number of cybercrimes are reported across the state every month and maximum cases fall in the category of withdrawing money from the bank accounts of victims. Due to the non-availability of adequate numbers of skilled personnel, such cases either remain pending or police stations refuse to work on them.

In the investigation of cybercrimes, time is the most important factor, said the officer, adding that if the case of online fraud is reported timely then the extent of loss could be reduced and money siphoned from the victim's bank account could be put on hold.

If a person falls victim to cybercrime, he/she should lodge the complaint by dialling police helpline number 1930, which is operational 24 hours, said ASP Gupta.

Similarly, in the case of cyberbullying (wherein obscene image or video of the victims are being circulated in cyberspace) also timely reporting of cases play a vital role, said the ASP and further explained that if reported timely, police can ensure it is blocked and prevent the content from getting viral.

Victims of cybercrimes can avail the help from the police helpline number 1930 and from the website of the Government of India cybercrime.gov.in, he added.

Once all the cyber police stations become operational, the investigation will receive a major boost, the officer said.