Women are not just victims of cyber crime. An increasing number of them are committing the crime themselves.

Data with the Lalbazar police headquarters suggest that more than 30 per cent of those accused in cyber crime cases are women.

“We have registered complaints against eight women in the past year who allegedly committed crimes using their personal computers or laptops,” said Gyanwant Singh, the deputy commissioner of police (headquarters).

Most of the women are young and from well-off families. “They are educated and also tech-savvy,” Singh said.

An officer of the detective department’s cyber crime wing said: “Most of the women are accused of impersonation. They created IDs using others’ names and personal details and sent mails from there. Several factors, including professional jealousy and personal grudge related to love affairs, are responsible for these women getting into cyber crime.”

A few months ago, the police picked up a girl, in her mid-20s, who worked for a BPO. “She had purchased electronic goods and other valuables online by using others’ credit card numbers. When we reached her house, she was stunned. She later said she had never thought that her act would land her behind bars,” said Naseem Ali, who heads the cyber crime wing.

A housewife was arrested under the Information Technology Act on charges of being involved in a flesh trade. “The woman was directly inviting people through her webpage to have sex for money. We laid a trap and arrested her in a guest house in Jadavpur,” said Singh.

Even a year ago, hardly any woman was involved in the crime, said an officer. “They used to come to us as victims.”

Sources said the authorities have decided to set up a laboratory at Lalbazar at a cost of Rs 50 lakh to combat online crimes. “We need help from experts to crack cyber crime cases. Once the laboratory is set up, we will function independently. A fresh batch of officers will be given training in the field and deployed in the Lalbazar lab,” the officer added.