Cabinet gives nod for 25 new Cyber Crime Police Stations across state

Kolkata: The state Cabinet on Thursday approved setting up of 25 Cyber Crime Police Stations across Bengal. 24 such police stations will come up in police districts, while one will be set up in the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

"The instances of cyber crime are rising day by day. The proposed Cyber Crime Police Stations will help generate awareness among common people and at the same time, tackle cyber problems faced by citizens in an effective manner. The police stations will also ensure that proper probes of the complaints related to cyber crime are conducted," said Chandrima Bhattacharya, minister of state for Land, Land Reforms and Health to reporters after the Cabinet meeting in Nabanna. According to Bhattacharya, 249 posts in different categories would be created, along with recruitment of 24 consultants or software specialists. Sources in the state Home department said that the main role of the consultants would be monitoring social media, so that necessary measures can be taken whenever needed.

There is already a separate Cyber Crime Police Station at the Kolkata Police headquarters in Lalbazar and one under Bidhannagar City Police.

The decision to set up separate police stations to handle cyber crime complaints assumes significance, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee condemning attempts to "evoke fear" by spreading rumours, with the ones regarding a "bogus child-lifting scare" being very recent. The police stations bordering South 24-Parganas, where fake WhatsApp messages about alleged kidnappings are circulating the most, have already been put on high alert after a couple of incidents of mob attack on people took place due to rumours of child-lifting.

Kasba and Anandapur police station areas in Kolkata have also witnessed similar incidents recently.

Kolkata Police has issued strict directives to all the police stations in the city, asking them to launch special vigilance and strong action against rumour-mongers. The police are also spreading messages through microphones among people, urging them to not be provoked by such rumours.

Meanwhile, Bhattacharya also announced an important decision of recruiting as many as 3,376 ICDS employees, which the Cabinet approved on Thursday. "There were many vacant posts in ICDS since 2007. It has been a long time since the last recruitment. It is a giant stride towards woman empowerment in the state," she maintained. The Cabinet has also decided to bring in changes in the recruitment rules of ICDS employees, so that supervisors can work in a more effective manner.