 "cbi")
The two central premier investigative agencies — Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate — have asked their officials to focus more on digital evidence, e-forums and social media to crack down on offenders.
These are a crucial part of prosecution amid the second wave of the pandemic. The Income Tax Department is going full throttle on data analytics to issue notices in time-bound cases.
Further, sleuths have been given electronic devices including laptops with secure connections, which keep data encrypted and inaccessible. These devices do not recognise or detect any external device like a pen drive or other hard disk and so on.
“The pandemic has changed the investigation technique and increases the prevalence of technology. Searches and physical verification of data and questioning have been conducted based on case requirements, but have been minimised to the large extent,” said a senior official from one of the agencies.
To secure such digital evidence, officials have also been asked to use the Kawatch App to secure devices from cyber-attack threats.
Federal agencies may, however, face challenges in convincing the judiciary on the veracity of such evidence. Sometimes digital footprints, footage or voice could be doctored. However, there is a government-appointed examiner to check the authenticity of digital evidence. Another issue is that courts take a lot of time to cross-verify the documents physically submitted by the agencies.
These are a crucial part of prosecution amid the second wave of the pandemic. The Income Tax Department is going full throttle on data analytics to issue notices in time-bound cases.
Further, sleuths have been given electronic devices including laptops with secure connections, which keep data encrypted and inaccessible. These devices do not recognise or detect any external device like a pen drive or other hard disk and so on.
“The pandemic has changed the investigation technique and increases the prevalence of technology. Searches and physical verification of data and questioning have been conducted based on case requirements, but have been minimised to the large extent,” said a senior official from one of the agencies.
To secure such digital evidence, officials have also been asked to use the Kawatch App to secure devices from cyber-attack threats.
Federal agencies may, however, face challenges in convincing the judiciary on the veracity of such evidence. Sometimes digital footprints, footage or voice could be doctored. However, there is a government-appointed examiner to check the authenticity of digital evidence. Another issue is that courts take a lot of time to cross-verify the documents physically submitted by the agencies.
