Police Cyber Support for Women: 691 complaints in 48hrs
The Police Cyber Support for Women, a special cell formed on November 16 to contain the rising trend of online harassment against women, has received around 691 complaints in the last two days.
Of the complaints, 331 were received on Tuesday and 360 yesterday.
The complaints include allegations of cyber bullying, blackmailing, ID hacking and threats, Sohel Rana, assistant inspector general of Police Headquarters, told The Daily Star yesterday.
During this period, the special cell has already been able to settle 170 complaints, which is around 25 percent of the total received ones, he said.
According to cell officials, these complaints were mostly over ID hacking or creating fake social media accounts.
Sohel Rana said for these types of complaints, the cell, composed solely of female officials, has already prepared some templates on how to keep social media accounts secure or report against fake accounts.
Once one submits a complaint, the officials immediately send those templates to her with guidelines.
In the last 48 hours, 52 complaints are being handled at the "follow up desk" and complainers have been contacted for some relevant information to investigate into those allegations. These complaints will be disposed of upon receiving further information from them, said desk officials.
The remaining 489 complaints have been registered as "complaints for investigation" and necessary legal action will be taken after probe, according to a statement issued by the PHQ.
Inspector General of Police Benazir Ahmed officially launched the all-woman special wing at an event at the Rajarbagh Police Lines Auditorium in Dhaka.
The cell receives complaints through three platforms -- Facebook page: Police Cyber Support for Women (PCSW); email: [email protected] or hotline: 01320000888.
An officer of the desk said they work round the clock in shifts. "We are getting most of the complaints through Facebook. In the last two days, we have also received around 250 calls," said the officer.
The official further said they often need to provide counseling to complainants.
On Tuesday night, a person called and started crying. "She was badly shaken up and said she was a victim of cyber bullying."
"We assured her that we are beside her and there's nothing to worry about. We took the details and communicated with the local police station to provide her legal support. We are trying to solve the issues as early as possible... If any investigation is needed, it may need a week or two to resolve the matter."
Presently, two assistant superintendents of police are leading the cell's activities. Stationed at the PHQ, under the supervision of the Lawful Interception Cell, the wing has 12 full-time personnel.
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