Cyber crimes in the State of Jammu and Kashmir are on the rise. From 14 cases of such crimes in 2011, the number has gone up to 46 in 2013. If the trend is not arrested and allowed to go as it is, there is every possibility that cyber crimes will go up to unimaginable proportions. This all happens owing to misuse of cyber technology. Cyber crimes are of various kinds, more importantly, these have financial impact involving billions of dollars per year in the country.
Cyber crime is a new generation of crimes that the police have to deal with. It is advanced technology that works behind the crime. Since our State is beset with militancy for last two decades and more, those promoting militancy and disruption of law and order in the State are also trying to induct cyber technology into criminal history. Normally, it is the Police Department that is called upon to handle this type of criminology. But being a technical science, training has to be imparted to technical staff in the Police Department that is exclusively deployed to take care of cyber crimes. For this purpose, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, under its programme of Modernization of Police Services in the State, provided grants for installing cyber crime laboratory in the State. The Police Department also collaborated and thus on principle it was agreed to start a lab where all necessary forensic paraphernalia would be provided for imparting training to the police staff to handle cyber crimes.
But so far this scheme has not taken off the way it should have. The lab is not functional in a manner as desired just for the reason that it is not equipped with the requisite paraphernalia. In view of disturbed conditions in the State, the scheme should have been made functional right from day one. Not a single day should have been wasted. We are aware that militants and their outfits are making profuse use of information technology to configure their plans and actions. Once it was known to IT experts that cyber technology can be used and is used in negative terms, they devised the methodology of controlling the crime by identifying the criminals, finding out the messages, their origin and disposal and retrieving the history etc. All this is high technology. Therefore, the Ministry of Information Technology issued a manual for the help and guidance of cybercrime investigators to use it extensive and intensively as it would help them in making investigation and preparing reports for the use of judicial authorities. On account of non functionality of the lab, the police cannot produce internet evidence in various cases of cyber crimes.
In any case, we would implore the Police Department not to be complacent about cyber crimes that are on an increase in our State. This criminal chapter can have enormous potential if not curbed at the very beginning. Anti-social elements receive encouragement by the idea that their crimes will go undetected and they can have a field day in carrying forward their illegal activities. This is a dangerous situation and needs to be dealt with a stern hand. Why forensic tools have not been provided to the lab so far?
We think that apart from setting up two cybercrime labs one each in Srinagar and Jammu, there is the need of at least four more functional cells to be set up in border towns of Poonch, Rajouri and Kupwara, besides in Doda district headquarters. We also suggest that fairly large number of policemen should be trained to handle cyber crimes and each District Headquarter of the State has to be provided with personnel trained in handling cyber crime cases. Coordination among all cells is of highest importance because only then can the history of a cybercrime be traced in entirety. We hope the police authorities will review the matter and do whatever is needed in upgrading the mechanism that would control cybercrimes in the State.
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