KOCHI: The misuse of information technology for criminal activities in the country is not only giving sleepless nights to the victims but also the law enforcement agencies. Though the number of cyber crimes is increasing at an alarming pace, the law enforcement agencies in the state find jurisdictional limitations a major challenge to carry out an effective investigation in such cases.
However, these limitations are likely to be a thing of the past. The police department has approached the Union ministries of Home Affairs and Information and Broadcasting to set up a National Investigation Coordination Portal (NICP) to nab cyber fraudsters. If this comes into effect, the police can register a case and launch an investigation irrespective of the jurisdiction under which the crime has taken place.
“With the advancement of technology, the number of cyber-related crimes has increased a lot. Since the fraudsters are mainly operating from other states, it is a risky affair for the state police to register a case and launch an investigation. For such cases, the support of other states is inevitable. If NICP comes into being, we can launch an investigation and even transfer the case to other states. Now, the fraudsters are well aware of the challenges faced by the police. With the launch of NICP, these people can be nabbed easily,” said ADGP and Cyberdome nodal officer Manoj Abraham.
As per the latest report of the State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB), the number of cheating cases has shown an upward trajectory. Last year, 8,639 cheating cases were registered in the state as compared to 5,606 in 2019.
“We have submitted a proposal to the Union ministries. It needs to be discussed further as some amendments to the existing rules have to be made. Already, we have a crime reporting portal. It will be good if we could similarly create the NICP. We hope the government will consider the proposal soon,” added Abraham.
Benefits
“Since NICP is going to be a national-level tracker, even a petty crime can be easily solved. At present, the fraudsters are looting only meagre amounts from the public. Since the amount is small, the victim hesitates to register a complaint. Hence, the number of crimes the same fraudster had carried out would be large,” the ADGP said.
“It is an expensive task for the state police to send two police officers to nab a person from a northern state. But once the NICP is live, we can easily transfer the case to the respective state. This will help bring down the number of unsolved cyber crime cases,” he added.