RAJ KUMAR
Ranchi, Dec.31: D.A.V. Kapildev School management on Friday night circulated a message among the students informing that someone created a group named DAV Kapildev Kadru which is a fake group and requested them to leave the group.
A day before this incident, cyber fraud, having access to all data of a web media journalist, withdrew Rs 18000 from the credit card account of the journalist.
Prior to this, a cyber fraud attempted blackmailing a journalist, associated with a national newspaper, by creating his Whatsapp profile suggesting that the journalist is a call girl supplier.
Four days ago a case surfaced suggesting that a cyber fraud created a fake portal of Jharkhand State Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) to dupe unemployed youth.
These are not only four cases. There are many such cases suggesting that cyber criminals are active and people in the state can be targeted any time by cyber criminals. In comparison to this, the preparedness of police to detect cases of cyber fraud appeared poor. The situation is so bad that so far senior police officials have not thought it proper to give a separate column for cyber crime in its district-wise monthly crime data table.
A victim of cyber fraud said that when he tried to contact officials at the cyber police station in Ranchi, which is the first cyber police station of the state established on March 22, 2016, he found both land lines mentioned in the official website non-functional and only mobile phones mentioned in the website switched off. Finally, he went to the police station.
An inspector at a city-based police station said detection of cyber crime is a challenge. “Verification is tough in this case as anyone from any part of the world can target anyone. An investigating officer has to spend money from his own pocket for proper verification by visiting different locations. For an officer-in-charge with a limited manpower it becomes difficult to spare an officer for cyber crime detection,” the inspector said.
A senior police official, however, said that police are fully prepared and taking all measures to detect the crime.
“It is a fact that cyber criminals are active but it is also a fact that they are being caught. In May, the police constituted a team taking officials of six states including Bihar, UP, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Odisha besides Jharkhand to put a check on cyber crime. Awareness is also being created,” the official associated with the crime investigation department said, requesting anonymity.
