Hyderabad: Telangana police is planning to set up new cyber crime labs/cells in all the districts and commissionerates, including newly formed ones, DGP Anurag Sharma said here on Tuesday. He said that as the state is moving towards a cashless economy, the police has to master new skills to beat cyber criminals.

Inaugurating a three-day training programme for Telangana cops on ‘Cyber security and cashless transactions’, the DGP said that the Cyber Crime Cells in each district would help police officials to gather evidence not only in digital offenses but in conventional crimes also.

Mr Anurag Sharma said the police department would acquire the necessary equipment and technology needed to set up fully fledged cyber crime cells across the state. “As the state is moving towards a cashless economy it is necessary to outrun cyber criminals. The police force should acquire skills to investigate cybercrimes, collect and present digital evidence in court,” he said, adding that the police will also have to educate the public about the dangerous cons present in the cyber world and how to take precautions to avoid them.

The DGP said the training programme is designed in such a way that cops can learn different types of cyber offences, interpretation of the law regarding them, tracing the cyber offender with online techniques like finding out the IP address and social media snooping. They can also equip themselves with abilities to use information technology and prevent major cyber crimes.