Karnataka - Bangalore

Cyber Crime Police cannot investigate email scams

BANGALORE: Strange as it may seem, the Cyber Crime Police Station cannot investigate complaints of people who are being cheated by email scams. It can only investigate cases involving hacking, source code tampering and generation of obscene content.

Director-General of Police (Corps of Detectives) Ajai Kumar Singh said the local police have to register and investigate cases of cheating and other offences.

“Unless there is hacking, source code tampering and creation of obscene content, cases do not come under our purview,” Mr. Singh said. “Mere use of Internet as a mode for crime cannot be a cause for referring it to us,” he added.

Mr. Singh was answering a question at a press conference here on Wednesday about instances where the Cyber Crime Police Station has been routing cases of fraud to the local police.

The Cyber Crime Police Station, a special unit under the Corps of Detectives, looks into offences punishable under Information Technology Act 2000“We are not authorised to look into any other cases,” he said.

A circular has been issued in this regard, Mr. Singh added.

The Cyber Crime police station, however, has been helping the police in investigating cases involving use of Internet. Police officers are being trained in the basics of computers, email tracking and cyber forensics at the newly opened Cyber Lab. The lab is being jointly managed by Karnataka State Police, National Association of Software and Service Companies and Canara Bank. Sub-Inspectors, Police Inspectors and Deputy Superintendents of Police are being trained in batches.

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