The Advance Training School in Patna. Picture by Ranjeet Kumar Dey

Patna, Feb. 16: A cyber crime cell has been set up at the state police headquarters in Patna to look into the complaints of Internet crime across the state.

The cell, led by a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) rank officer, would function under the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at the state police headquarters. The cell, a first of its kind in the state, is presently functioning from the office of the Advance Training School (ATS).

Additional director-general of police (headquarters) Rajvardhan Sharma said the cyber crime cell was made operational on January 11. The cell has been set up at the state headquarters in view of the rising number complaints related to cyber crime in the state in recent times.

Sharma, who was posted with the CID before being given the new assignment last week, said the cell has been equipped with the required infrastructure like computers with Internet facility. The cell has the jurisdiction over all the offenses committed under the Information Technology Act, laws related to intellectual property rights and other related crimes.

Police personnel, trained in computers, have been posted with the cyber crime cell. The personnel, drawn from different districts, were selected and subsequently imparted specialised training, as they had to deal with the complaints, which were different in nature from those received at the police stations, he added. Under the provisions of the law, no police officer below the rank of inspector can be appointed as an investigating officer of the complaints of cyber crime. It does not matter whether he or she is attached with a special cyber crime cell or any police station falling under the jurisdiction.

A senior police officer attached with the cyber crime cell said emails with subject lines like “You have won lottery” or “Your lucky coupons” come under the jurisdiction of the cyber crime cell. Many have fallen prey to such emails. The victims are often enticed to provide confidential information — like bank account or credit card details — on the Internet and were cheated. “Internet users need to be careful. Do not give any information related to your bank accounts or credit cards unless you are sure about the credentials of the person concerned,” the officer added.

In Bihar, most of the complaints were related to fraud through credit cards, he said.

Referring to the nature of the complaint the cell normally received, an investigating officer said some of the victims complained of withdrawal of money from their bank accounts by others through fraudulent means. In such cases, the involvement of the bank officials cannot be ruled out, the officer said.

A few months ago, a resident of Rajendra Nagar was shocked to find that the cheque he had deposited with a private bank at Kankerbagh in Patna had been credited to another person’s bank account. Though the victim lodged a complaint with the Patrakarnagar police station, nothing has been done yet, said a source.

In police stations, officers assigned to probe such cases were not aware of the laws and the methods of investigation. As a result, the conviction rate of such crimes is terribly low.

“Though Internet crime is a new concept for the police officers of Bihar, we are trying to match the level of cyber crime cells functioning in other states,” the officer said.

Deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Nilesh Kumar has been made in-charge of cyber crime cell. Earlier, a cyber crime unit was opened at Kotwali police station. The unit, headed by DSP (law and order) L.M. Sharma, has a few solved cyber-crime cases to its credit.