“Crime and bad lives are the measure of a state’s failure, all crime in the end is the crime of the community.” ~ H.G Wells
All of us in the present time must have come across
the term cyber crime in our daily lives at some or other time. With the
expanding horizons of the internet, criminal activities have also expanded
their reach over the virtual world. Cyber crime is the common denomination given
to activities which use a computer device to further illegal activities like
fraud, trafficking, forgery, breaching privacy etc.
With every passing year, the rate at which these
activities take place has grown tenfold. Between, 2012 and 2018, cyber crime
incidents registered were around 90,000. According to data published in 2020,
the rate of cyber crimes against children has increased by 400%.Therefore, a
constant vigil is required to keep the cybercrimes in check. Since, the
cybercrimes are conducted using technologically advanced tools, a special
legislation was required to deal with them up given our old penal codes were
not equipped enough to deal with the new category of crimes emerging. Therein comes the IT Act, 2000, based on the
UNICITRAL model law on E- commerce.
Consequently, in India, cyber crimes are dealt with primarily
under the IT Act, the Indian Penal Code and the Code of Civil Procedure.
Just like filing an offline FIR puts the criminal law
in motion, reporting in a crime in cyber cell puts the investigating
authorities on the front foot and they start their investigation.
Section 78 of the IT Act provides that any officer not
below the rank of Sub Inspector has the authority to investigate the cyber
offence. The power is restricted as so long as such persons exercise them
legally and lawfully and in strict compliance with the provisions of the
Criminal Procedure Code. Whereas, Section 80 provides that the police officer
has the power to enter any public place and arrest any person who is reasonably
suspected of having committed any offence under the IT Act, 2000. The objective
behind this particular provision is to give the police officer the power to
figure out the computer network being used for the malicious activities, in
order to dismantle it or get hold of the person using it.
Above given are the powers to the police officers
under the IT Act, to conduct a proper investigation and to be vigilant about
these offences and be prepared to conduct a fair, just and equitable
investigation.
However, what the police personnel in India lack is awareness
about the recent developments in technology and their handling. Even today,
people are arrested under the already dead Section 66 A given the lack of
knowledge and awareness among the police personnel. Therefore, in order to
facilitate the process of investigation and make cyber criminals bend down
before the long arms of the law, proper training of police personnel is
required to have a just and equitable system of cyber vigilance.
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