Trigger-happy to IT savvy: UP Police to bolster cybercrime wing

Deploy special cops, IT experts at Lucknow, Noida cyber thanas

Uttar Pradesh Police, which has gunned down over 45 wanted criminals over the past 13 months under the Yogi Adityanath government, is now bolstering its cybercrime wing to tackle the rising menace and dragnet of cyber criminals.

The world’s largest police force, UP Police, would deploy 128 personnel at its two cyber police stations in Lucknow and Noida. The wing would be helmed by a superintendent of police (SP) rank officer and assisted by an additional SP. Each of the two police stations would be led by a deputy SP rank officer, sources said here.

An Additional Director General of Police (DGP) or Inspector General of Police (IGP) rank officer would supervise the new cyber wing to function under the Special Task Force (STF) arm. The cybercrime wing would also be manned private IT experts on-boarded through outsourcing. Earlier, the DGP headquarter had forwarded a proposal to the government for hiring a total of 177 personnel for the specialised wing. However, the government approved only 128 posts.

Recently, DGP O P Singh had said the expansion of internet had also widened the scope of cybercrimes. In a missive to all the district police chiefs, the DGP has directed for undertaking an extensive statewide drive to create awareness among the people regarding cybercrimes, including frauds, invasion of privacy, ATM/bank swindlers, stealing of identity, cyber terrorism etc. 

The cops would not only make harness traditional and social media to create awareness, but also organise workshops and seminars to apprise people of the perils of cybercrimes and measures to safeguard.

Meanwhile, UP Police is also fortifying its social media presence for cultivating a positive image for itself not only nationally but internationally too. To create a speedy mode of interaction with people of UP origins living in other countries, the state police has announced to create country-specific Twitter handles, after its generic Twitter handle clocked record hits since inception. 

The state police would designate local coordinators in these countries, who would be entrusted with the task of apprising the police headquarter over the official Twitter handles about any help needed by the Non Resident Indians (NRI) for themselves or their kin for prompt action and follow up. 

UP Police official Twitter handle @Uppolice has to date 4,05,000 followers. Besides, over 120 verified Twitter handles of different zone and district police units are also functioning in the public domain for information exchange, filing complaints etc. 

Not only police, but the state administrative machinery is also pulling up its socks for becoming more IT savvy and unlocking the power of social media for positive image making. The information department officials have been asked to hone their IT skills and learn the nuances of Facebook and Twitter, so that they could use these powerful social media platforms.