Cybercrime cell yet to be a reality in state

Patna: Despite rise in cases of cybercrime, Bihar still lacks a dedicated investigation unit to deal with the menace.

The first cybercrime investigation unit of the state, which was launched at the

Kotwali

police station in 2010, has been lying defunct for the last few years. Like other districts in the state, Patna Police too depend on economic offences unit (

EOU

) to detect cases of cybercrime.

According to the recently released National Crime Records Bureau (

NCRB

) data, Bihar recorded 242 cases of cybercrime in 2015, a sharp jump from 114 cases registered in 2014. Interestingly, 1,567 persons were arrested under different sections of cybercrime in 2015 against just 111 in 2014.

Bihar is one of the five states where no one was booked in 2015 for harassing women on social media. The other four states are Sikkim,

Nagaland

, Manipur and Jharkhand.

Patna SSP Manu Maharaaj said cybercrime victims should lodge their complaints with the local police station instead of directly approaching the police headquarters. “We have some tech-savvy officers who have undergone training to deal with cybercrime cases,” he said.

Sources said a team of Facebook officials would soon hold a meeting with Bihar police to discuss measures to combat cybercrime in the state. A DSP-rank officer said on an average, the EOU sleuths receive two to three complaints per day regarding creation of fake Facebook profiles.