In his mid-30s, Ranchi resident Harak Lohar became the victim of e-theft on Thursday but got a bigger jolt when a prominent thana refused to lodge a cyber crime FIR saying nothing could be done.
A staffer at Union Club and Library, Lohar, swindled virtually of Rs 7,500 from Canara Bank, is among many in Ranchi who face problems in lodging FIRs for e-crimes. The city's sole proposed cyber thana, announced over two years ago, is still not ready. Though state police headquarters in Dhurwa has a cyber defence research centre (CDRC), it is neither accessible to the masses nor equipped to handle the volume of e-crime.
According to CID data, in 2013, about 43 cyber crime cases were reported across the state. In 2014, the number leapfrogged to 129. In Ranchi alone, the cases hiked from 17 in 2013 to over 40 in 2014. But, with most thanas unwilling to lodge FIRs, these figures may be the tip of the iceberg.
State police spokesperson S.N. Pradhan told The Telegraph that people must know that any thana is obliged to register an e-theft case.
"No police station can refuse a case irrespective of whether it is a cyber thana or not. At the moment, only one cyber thana will come up in Ranchi. But, a regular thana is bound to take a report," Pradhan said.
He added that it held true for anywhere inside the state.
As Lohar learnt the hard way, committing e-theft is almost painless.
On Thursday afternoon, Lohar got a phone call from the number 9102510123 saying it was a "routine verification call" from his bank. An unsuspecting Lohar gave his bank account and debit card details. Shortly later, he received an SMS saying Rs 7,500 had been withdrawn from his account.
Contacting the bank, he learnt they never call up customers for account details over phone. All his bank could confirm was that his cash had been transferred electronically. Lohar understood he had been duped by an e-theft gang.
But, when his bank told him to lodge an FIR, Lalpur thana said nothing could be done, Lohar told The Telegraph.
Through The Telegraph, Lohar managed to get his FIR lodged with Lalpur thana at night following orders from Ranchi SSP Prabhat Kumar.
On Lalpur thana's initial brush-off to Lohar, Pradhan said: "Such things happen solely because of lack awareness among lower-rung officers. At times police stations don't want to take extra pain. We will hold workshops to sensitise them in this regard. Over 70 per cent of our investigating officers currently are ASI ranked and most are ill-informed," he confessed.
The cyber police station at Ranchi DIG office in Kutchery would start functioning by July-August, he added. "Physical verification of the site is over. A team will go to Bangalore to get a checklists of hardware and software we need. We have also shortlisted some applications for personnel."
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