All police stations in Mumbai to have dedicated cyber cell from Dec 9

In a bid to address the growing number of cyber crimes and other technology-related cases, the Mumbai police has decided to set up a dedicated cyber cell at each of its police stations.

Akbar Pathan, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Cyber Crime Cell, said that the cells will be fully functional at all police stations from December 9.

All the cyber-related cases, except the ones which need special technical expertise, will be dealt by the police station cells, Pathan said.

The cell will comprise a police inspector, two sub-inspectors, and two to three constables.

Going forward, the victim will be able to lodge his or her case at the cyber cell of the police station concerned instead of approaching the cyber police station at Bandra.

A five-day-long training programme commenced on Monday, which is aimed at making the personnel who will be part of the dictated cell adept in dealing with such crimes.

“Besides theoretical knowledge, the training will emphasise on providing practical knowledge. From making post-investigation seizures to which sections of the IT Act to be applied, they will be imparted training on a wide range of aspects,” Pathan said.

Cyber Cell expert, Vijay Mukhi, termed the move as a positive one and said that it will help in dealing with basic crimes related to information technology.

The recently-released National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report titled “Crime in India 2016” had put Mumbai first among 19 big cities nationwide in the number of cyber crime case registered.

According to the report, Mumbai saw 4,172 cases in the year 2016 followed by Bengaluru with 762 cases and Jaipur with 532 cases.

With PTI inputs