Gandhinagar, Feb 21 (PTI) The Gujarat government on Wednesday informed the legislative Assembly that a new ‘cyber crime unit’ will be set up under an Additional DGP-rank officer to prevent as well as investigate crimes committed using digital technology.
The government will also set up a ‘Special Action Force’ or SAF on the lines of the Rapid Action Force (RAF), a central entity, to deal with any emergency situation in the state, Gujarat Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi announced in the Assembly.
Sanghavi, speaking while seeking the House approval for budgetary allocation for the Home Department, claimed the BJP-ruled Gujarat was the “safest” state and asked the opposition, which cited NCRB data on crimes to attack the government, to check if anyone can move freely at 2 am in other states as is the case here.
“Cyber crimes have become a matter of concern nowadays. Victims of cyber crimes many times feel so helpless that they end their lives. Scamsters not only defraud people financially but also trap our daughters using technology. Under our ‘TRISHUL’ project, we will set up a new call centre and appoint phone operators so that calls of cyber crime victims do not go unanswered,” he said while tabling demand for grants for the department.
Latest software will be purchased by the Home Department to prevent online frauds and track scamsters operating from other states, said the minister.
“In addition, we have decided to set up a new cyber crime unit under an Additional DGP-rank officer to prevent as well as investigate cyber crimes. At present, we have cyber police stations in city areas and state CID also handles such cases. Now, we will bring all these under one umbrella so that cyber fraud victims sitting in remote areas get a timely help. New posts will be created from top to bottom and every district unit will be equipped well to handle cyber crime cases,” Sanghavi maintained.
In another announcement, he said nearly 650 Information Technology (IT) experts will be appointed to help the police crack online crimes. Gujarat will be the first state to have such an arrangement.
Sanghavi declared that a single emergency helpline number ‘112’ will soon be activated in Gujarat and efforts are being made to ensure that maximum response time for rural areas is 20 minutes and 10 minutes in cities.
To achieve that target, the Home Department will procure as many as 1,100 new vehicles to quickly deal with emergency situations, the minister said.
On the lines of RAF, a central anti-riot unit, the government will create a ‘Special Action Force’, or SAF, to deal with any emergency situation in the state, Sanghavi told the Assembly.
“We will pick personnel from the State Reserve Police (SRP) and provide them extensive training (for SAF tasks). We will provide them the latest equipment so that they can address any emergency situation,” stated Sanghavi.
A separate cell will also be created to help police stations in investigating cases related to drugs trade and file chargesheets in a time-bound manner in courts for speedy trial, maintained the minister.
Prior to Sanghavi’s address, Shailesh Parmar (Congress), while speaking on his ‘cut motion’, slammed the state government, alleging that contrary to its claims, Gujarat’s crime rate was going up as per figures provided by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
“As per the NCRB data, Ahmedabad and Surat are among the top ten cities of India having high crime rate. Crime incidents are on the rise because of illegal drugs and liquor consumption. NCRB has said crime against women has also gone up in the state despite economic development,” said the opposition legislator.
Responding to the Congress MLA’s statements, Sanghavi asserted that without doubt Gujarat is the “safest” state in India.
“As per NCRB, Gujarat ranked 31st among 36 states and Union Territories in the category of violent crimes (low ranking means better safety). Similarly, Gujarat was at 33rd spot in crime against women. While the country’s crime rate is 258 per lakh population, Gujarat stands at 189.8, much lower than 661 in Kerala, 418 in Haryana and 400 in Telangana. Just visit other states and check if you can move freely at 2 am,” said Sanghavi. PTI PJT PD RSY
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