Bengaluru will soon get its first cyber crime police station under the Bengaluru City Police in a month. But, it is likely to be of little help to most victims of cyber fraud.
A government order mandates that cybercrime police stations can register cases of bank cards where frauds exceed over Rs 5 lakh and online cheating of over Rs 50 lakh, a report by TOI states.
Those who lose lesser amounts will have to approach the police station in their respective jurisdictions and these comprise 90% of the cases of cyber crime in the city, the report adds.
This may lead to many complainants being turned away by the upcoming cybercrime station, and fraudsters running free.
The report states that around 75 complaints related to cybercrime are received daily in Bengaluru, with over Rs 20 crore siphoned off in 2016.
The city already has two cybercrime police stations under the CID (Criminal Investigation Department).
"There is a rise in number of online frauds and people have lost their hard-earned money. Culprits sitting behind screens in remote locations are easily conning people to the tune of lakhs of rupees. The new cybercrime station will have personnel who are aware of different types of frauds and will track down fraudsters," city police commissioner Praveen Sood was quoted as saying by TOI.
Police are putting together a team of sleuths and zeroing in on a central location. For the moment, it'll start operations from the central crime branch office on Mysuru Road.
Irrespective of the area of residence, citizens can lodge their complaints with the cybercrime police.
The additional commissioner added that once the wing becomes operational, the standing orders based on the fraud amount can be altered depending on the grievances obtained, the report says.