Shillong, Feb 27: Cyber criminals are raising their head in the state and cases are beginning to appear with the Cyber Crime Police Station registering as many as 42 cases in the last five years.
“From 2019 till January 31, 2024, a total of 42 cases have been registered in the Cyber Crime Police Station, which are related to cyber-crimes,” Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma told the Assembly on Monday.
He was replying to a zero hour notice moved by UDP legislator from Nongpoh Mayralborn Syiem in regards to an incident where a YouTube channel had wrongly put the image of the chairman of the Synjuk Ki Rangbah Shnong Ri Bhoi (SRSRB) BB Makdoh in relation to a fake news item on February 19.
Sangma said in order to tackle circulation of fake news or cyber crime in the state, a cyber crime wing has been set up within the criminal investigation department (CID) of Meghalaya police.
The units of the Cyber Crime Wing include the Cyber Crime Police Station, the Cyber Forensic Training Facility (CFTF) and the Cyber Assistance Cell & Monitoring Cell.
The role of the Cyber Crime Police Station is to investigate cyber or internet related crimes, prevent cyber crimes and impart awareness regarding the drawbacks in the cyber world.
The CM said in addition to the cases registered, the Cyber Crime Wing has conducted 20 training programmes and has also been able to impart 55 awareness programmes in various schools, colleges and various institutes.
Meanwhile, Sangma urged the content creators who are using various social media platforms to kindly verify or fact-check before creating/uploading any content.
“Relying on credible sources and cross-checking information from multiple sources can help ensure that the content is reliable. I would also request the avid users of social media to promote a culture of responsible content creation and sharing , as this will not only mitigate the impact of fake news but most importantly will prevent the circulation of misleading information,” he said
