Tripura, Mizoram step up efforts to tackle cyber crimes

Agartala/Aizawl, June 9: Tripura and Mizoram have taken steps to strengthen their existing setup to deal with the growing incidents of cyber crime, including misuse of social media, officials said on Saturday.

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in Tripura has recently decided to set up a separate full-fledged Crime Branch comprising senior IPS officers.

A senior police officer said the state government has already requested the Central government to repatriate three senior IPS officers to Tripura to join the proposed Crime ranch and to deal with the diverse crimes.

“Three Tripura cadre IPS officers - Rajiv Singh, Anish Prasad and R. Gopal Krishna Rao — currently posted in CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) are likely to return to Tripura soon.

“After they join Tripura Police, the crime branch would start making all-out efforts,” the official said. Law and Education Minister Ratan Lal Nath said the state government recently decided to set up a separate full-fledged crime branch to improve the efficiency of police investigations and to curb the incidents of diverse crimes.

“Our government wants to make Tripura a drug free state. We want to reduce crimes against women. The state cabinet last month decided to reserve 10 per cent posts in all types of recruitment in police force for women. Currently there is four per cent women police personnel in Tripura Police,” Nath told IANS.

There are cases on abuses of social media pending with Tripura Police involving both incumbent Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb and former Chief Minister Manik Sarkar.

Recently a youth was arrested for “misusing” a picture of Deb in his Facebook profile and posting offensive comments against him while separate fake Facebook accounts were opened using detailed information and a photograph of Sarkar.

In Aizawl, a senior police officer said the Mizoram government would soon set up the first cyber crime police station in the state capital.

“The existing cyber crime cell under the CID would be elevated to a separate full-fledged cyber crime wing and a police station,” a Deputy Inspector General rank officer of Mizoram Police said on condition of anonymity.

He said that bank frauds using information technology and abuse of social media have steadily increased in Mizoram.

“Women and children have mostly become victims of cyber crime. The state government is also considering setting up a cyber forensic laboratory and cyber training centre with financial assistance from the Union Home Ministry,” the official added. (IANS)