Sindh police fail to reactivate Cyber Crime Unit
KARACHI- Despite the fact that information technology and the internet are being used throughout the world by terrorists and criminals, the Sindh police have so far failed to reactivate its ‘Cyber Crime Unit’ (CCU) which earlier worked in the crimes branch under the Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Crimes.
Police sources disclosed that the CCU police had succeeded in solving at least five cases falling within the ambit of Cyber Crime, especially credit card fraud cases, but during the tenure of the former Inspector General Police (IGP), Sindh, Aftab Nabi, it became dysfunctional.
The main reasons behind the break in its functioning are said to be lack of interest and differences of opinion among the police top brass, sources said, adding that the then Additional IGP, Niaz Ahmed Siddiqui, wanted to control this department. The then DIG, Crimes, on his part, wanted to retain total control over the unit.
Sources also disclosed that some multinational financial organisations intended to provide comprehensive training to CCU officials in Pakistan and abroad to fight and detect 21st century crime. Many sources surmise that the training in foreign countries became the bone of contention within the police top hierarchy as no one wanted to miss foreign tours.
The CCU consisted of 10 to 15 officials of the Crimes and Special branches of the police and now they are posted in different departments of the police force. Sources claim that police scored initial successes in the Daniel Pearl abduction case by arresting three suspects Fahad, Salman, and Adil, who had sent two e-mail messages to media organisations containing photographs of the abducted journalist. Their arrest was possible due to technical facilities provided by the FBI, which, by using the latest technology, traced the origin of the e-mails.
Sources posed a question, namely, as to how, in future, the police could combat such crime in the absence of the CCU. Police have to do a lot of homework and must prepare themselves to fight future cyber crime, they added.
Source: The News
Date:2/18/2002
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