Police intensify vigil in district cyber cafes to check rumours to disturb peace in state

The police intensified the vigil in cyber cafés in districts especially in the bordering areas to check spreading of rumours that led to incidents of lynching in the past few days.

Sources said that the officers in police stations have been directed to maintain a record containing details of internet users in each and every cyber cafes.

It may be mentioned that maintaining a record of internet users in cyber cafes were made mandatory in Kolkata and other urban parts of the state. In these areas, cyber café owners need to submit details of internet users to local police station every day.

But a section of cyber café owners had managed to run their business without furnishing the required information to the police. Taking the opportunity, some had managed to spread rumours by posting certain messages in social networking sites. Since the cyber café owners didn't have the records of the internet users in his shop, it became difficult for the police to identify the persons who had spread the rumours through social networking sites.

This comes the day after the Director General of Police Surajit Kar Purakayastha held a press conference and said that stringent action will be taken if anyone is caught spreading rumour to affect the peace of the state.

Officers posted in police stations have asked all cyber café owners not to allow anyone to use internet in their shops if the person fails to provide photocopy of their voter's identity card or any other valid identity proof. At the same time, a register has to be maintained in cyber cafes where each of the internet users will also have to write their details and give a signature.

Police track the Internet Protocol (IP) number and start searching for its user. Thus it is quite easy to catch a person if the IP is of someone's personal desktop. It is also possible if name of an internet user in a cyber crime is available with the police.

The police also told the cyber cafe owners that strict legal action would be taken against them if they run their business without maintaining the record.