KOZHIKODE: Cyber police stations to deal with the escalating online crimes is still on paper. Though the number of cyber cases is reaching at the same level as that of the offline crimes, there is no systematic way out to deal with them, often linked to the offences in the real world. Though it was earlier planned to start cyber police stations in all the districts and as a beginning, in all the major cities, only the state capital has one that deals exclusively with cyber crimes.
While the number of petitions received in Kozhikode city limits alone in April this year was six, it reached 15 in June. However, cases were registered only in four out of the 27. Of the cybercrime petitions that are majorly received at the cyber cell of the district headquarters, a majority are under one section - social network abuse. “Strange cases are reported here when the photographs of a female member were leaked from a family WhatsApp group and circulated outside,” said Kozhikode city police commissioner S. Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar.
“Crimes can begin from anywhere, but the geographical regions of the cases may be entirely different, some stretching into foreign countries. The existing stations and district headquarters have limitations in dealing with the vast number of cases that are spread out.” According to him, the state should have at least five cyber police stations, in the major cities, to deal with the huge number of petitions received. For new cyber police stations, new buildings and equipment should be ready, and new posts created.
