Crime scan: A cyber cafe in the city

Calcutta police on Wednesday announced a set of norms to ensure that those using cyber cafes can be tracked down later.

The guidelines, which make it mandatory for cyber café owners to check identity cards of users and retain their activity records for at least six months, are a rehash of the rules framed by the police in February 2008.

The norms, which had been introduced two years ago to check cyber crime, are rarely enforced now. This time, the primary objective is to stop those associated with terrorist networks from using cyber cafes.

According to the guidelines, all café users have to write down their names, addresses, telephone numbers and the proof of identity.

Only I-card issued by an office or a school, voter card, ration card, driving licence, passport and credit card with photograph are admissible as proof of identity.

School or office I-cards have to satisfy the café owner, on whom would lie the onus of ensuring fool-proof security.

Cyber café owners have been asked to alert police if any activity of a user arouses suspicion.

The norms have to be followed by all cyber cafes in and around the city from Friday. They shall be in force for two months if not “withdrawn earlier”.

Violation of the order will be punishable under Section 188 of the IPC (disobedience to order promulgated by a public servant), which attracts imprisonment for a month or a fine of Rs 200 or both.

The move was initiated after the city police’s anti-terrorist cell received intelligence that members of various banned outfits were using cyber cafes in Calcutta.

Recent arrests by the Special Task Force confirmed the findings, said an officer.

“We realised that cyber criminals were using cafes to avoid identification. In most cases, even if the Internet Protocol address could be traced to a cafe, the person couldn’t be identified,” said a senior officer of the detective department.

In every police station, a senior officer has been assigned the task of visiting the local cyber cafes to see if the norms are being followed.