By Sahil Makkar, IANS
New Delhi : As the Indian capital records an ever rising trend of cyber crimes from e-mail scams to Internet hacking, Delhi Police Commissioner Y.S Dadwal wants the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) to probe them, but its overburdened staff says it is not prepared for the extra task.
“We are planning to introduce a single window mechanism under the EOW, a special wing under the Delhi Police Crime Branch, where all cyber crime cases will be investigated by the experts,” Dadwal told EOW officials earlier this month.
“The step is being taken as the experts will scrutinize the cases and it will also help in speedy disposal of the pending cases. People will find it convenient to register their complaints,” the new police commissioner said.
Currently, assistant commissioners of police (ACPs) in district police are responsible for investigating cyber crime cases, beside the EOW.
The new police chief’s plan has not found much favour with senior EOW officials.
“It’s a premature announcement by the commissioner. There is nothing on paper or on record yet. We are not prepared (for the task),” a senior police official told IANS on the condition of anonymity.
“The EOW is already overburden with unsolved cyber crime cases and doesn’t have the adequate support staff to handle the increased volume. We appreciate the decision, but it requires serious thought and resources,” the official added.
Asked when the new system would be implemented, the official said: “We are not aware. We have been informed that the matter will be discussed in the next meeting.”
According to police sources, the cyber cell, a section under the EOW, is spearheaded by only one ACP and 10 junior officials. Already facing staff and resource crunch, the cell has a long list of pending cases.
“The cyber cell is badly hit by the lack of resources. Also, you have to be patient to crack such crimes. The issue had already been raised before the concerned officials before the commissioner’s announcement,” said another top Delhi Police official.
The official feared the situation was bound to get only worse in future with the number of Internet subscribers shooting up along with incidents of cyber crimes.
The past six months have seen the number of Internet subscribers in India climb from 1.02 million to 2.04 million, according to the ministry of IT and communication.
According to statistics available with Delhi Police, a total of 17 cases related to hacking, obscenity, e-commerce fraud (online share trading, credit card fraud), Internet-related (copyright violation and misrepresentation on the Internet) crimes were registered last year.
This was against 12 cases registered in 2005, indicating a 42 percent rise.
“Despite the sharp increase, the number of cases reported is still very few, as most cases go unreported for various reasons,” the official added.
“One main reason for cases not getting registered is the police personnel’s inability to understand the matter and hesitance. Their promotion depends on the number of cases they solve in a year. We need experts who are efficient and trained to fight this new type of crime which is now only going to increase,” he said.
“We have to stress on proper training so that every official can handle such case more efficiently. Otherwise, police will become dependent on the understaffed EOW.”