Karnataka govt ups ante on cybercrime, to set up eight special police stations in Bengaluru

The state government has plans to set up eight cybercrime special police stations in the city to meet the technology-driven security challenge of the future.

Inaugurating the annual conference of senior Karnataka police officers in the city on Friday, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said the government is committed to strengthening and upgrading the police department to tackle tech-age crimes.

Stating that Karnataka has always been a peaceful state in the country, the Chief Minister attributed the success to the police department’s hard work.

“In the last one year, as per the official data, the crime rate has come down considerably, suggesting that the law and order situation is under control. The safety of women and children is the top priority of the government and we have taken enough measures in this regard,” the Chief Minister told media persons.

He said the government would show zero-tolerance towards terrorist activities. “We will soon set up anti-terrorist squads in Karnataka.”

He said the government has built 10,134 quarters for the police personnel and more such units will be built in the coming days.

“Helping the police in investigating various crimes, the state government has already taken enough steps to set up a modern forensic laboratory,” Yediyurappa added.

Commenting on the recruitment in the state police, the Chief Minister said: “We have already extended the age group by two years for candidates from SC, ST and OBC for inspector-rank posts. We have also decided to increase women reservation in the force to 25 per cent.”

Law on online gaming

Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai said the government has taken the public opinion about online games seriously. “People have regarded online games as a form of betting and we are already pursuing it seriously. Soon, we will enact a rule by consulting the law department to regulate the online games.”

He also said that the current law provides for the transfer of senior officials after one year of posting and the government is taking steps to extend it by one more year. Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Rajneesh Goyal, Director General and Inspector General of Police Praveen Sood and other top state police officials were present at the conference.