With rising cases of cybercrimes, Karnataka to get DGP to oversee investigations

Bengaluru: Karnataka is set to become the first state in India to have a DGP-rank police officer to oversee cybercrime investigations.

This will be another feather in the cap of the state which established India’s first cybercrime police station in the early 2000s.

Currently, Karnataka has four DGPs: the Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG&IGP), who serves as the state police chief, and three others, who head the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Fire and Emergency Services, and Prisons and Correctional Services.

The fifth DGP will head the Cyber Economics and Narcotics (CEN) crime wing.

Home Minister G Parameshwara confirmed that the police had submitted the proposal, and the state government accepted it.

Implementation would begin soon, he added.

“Cybercrimes are soaring in Karnataka and investigating them needs a specialised approach. We believe a top-ranking police officer overseeing the CEN wing will ensure smooth operations and better outcomes,” Parameshwara told DH.

Bengaluru residents have lost a whopping Rs 1,242.7 crore to cybercrimes in the first eight months of this year. This is Rs 214.6 crore more than what had been lost in the last three years combined, DH reported in October.

The state capital reported 12,356 cybercrimes this year (until August 31). In 2023, the number of cybercrimes stood at 17,633.

Parameshwara explained that cybercrimes go beyond financial fraud.

“There is fake news, harassment, data theft and so on. To investigate these crimes, we need investigators with the requisite skills, as well as a senior officer capable of devising effective action plans. Hence, we decided to create this new position,” he added.

The DGP (CEN wing) will be aided by an Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) and an Inspector General of Police (IGP). Seven Superintendents of Police (SPs) will oversee cybercrime investigations in as many police ranges of the state (Northern, Southern, Western, Eastern, Central, Northeastern and Ballari).

Earlier this year, Karnataka established a new CEN wing at the CID, appointing Pronab Mohanty, an ADGP-rank officer, to head it to tackle the flood of cybercrimes.

A senior police officer in the know said Karnataka was keen to establish a channel of communication between different investigating agencies, including police departments in other states. A separate CEN wing in the CID was established to coordinate these efforts.

Now, the government plans to separate the CEN from the CID, making it an independent wing and bringing all CEN police stations under it. The government hopes that CEN police stations — headed by senior police officers — will be able to tackle the menace of cybercrimes.

Another senior police officer, who is aware of the development, explained that creating a separate CEN wing under a DGP was necessary given the fast-evolving pace and methods of cybercriminals.

Police are already trying to create a database of all cybercrimes and how they have evolved to devise effective investigation methods.

“When CEN becomes an independent wing, we can plug existing gaps in investigations and develop new strategies. This will not only aid ongoing probes but also help our understanding of futuristic cybercrimes,” the officer said.