Siliguri, Nov. 16: Darjeeling cops have proposed to the director-general of police to set up a cyber crime cell in Siliguri, nearly 20 days after a polytechnic student here circulated among friends an MMS on intimate moments with his girl friend prompting her to commit suicide.

Ranbir Kumar, the inspector-general of police, north Bengal, told journalists that if approved, the cell would cover six districts of the region. Sources in the police said the proposed cell would be the second of its kind in the state and the first in the region.

“The Darjeeling district superintendent of police has recently sent a proposal to the DG for a separate cyber crime cell, which will monitor cyber crime in different districts of north Bengal. As we don’t have any specific wing in this regard, we have requested the police chief (DG) for a separate cell,” Kumar said today.

“Once the cell begins to function, it will provide necessary guidelines on specific cyber laws and their implementations.”

The proposal comes after an MMS scandal prompted a second year student of Siliguri Government Polytechnic to hang herself. Her boy friend, Anindya Garai, had circulated intimate moments between the two of them among friends. Despite an FIR she filed 10 days before she killed herself, the police failed to arrest Anindya. He was arrested after her death and the case was forwarded to the CID, which has a separate cyber crime cell.

“Lack of experts who can handle cyber crimes forces us every time to take help from the CID which has such a cell. Considering this, we proposed to the state police chief to set up a separate cyber cell here in Siliguri, so that it covers the six districts of north Bengal,” a police officer said.

“We have also requested training sessions for our personnel before setting up such cell here, so that they can be recruited there,” he added.

Earlier, the IG met the district magistrates and the police chiefs of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri to discuss restrictions and guidelines on performances in bars in Siliguri and Jalpaiguri.

“Any live performance has to be stopped by 10.30pm and all bars should be closed by 12 midnight. Apart from that, both the district administrations will hold a meeting with the bar owners’ association here on Thursday, where they will be briefed on the guidelines. The district police officials will also intensify their monitoring to check irregularities in the bars,” the IG said.