Ludhiana range: Digital forensic lab inaugurated; to reduce investigation period
A digital forensics lab has been inaugurated at Sarabha Nagar police station in Ludhiana, India, equipped with the latest technology and trained police staff, to provide technical assistance to police stations in the surrounding area. The facility can analyse tablets, smartphones, laptops, SD cards, hard drives and pen drives, and is expected to speed up investigations of cyber crimes by a "huge margin". The lab will be under the supervision of ACP Raj Kumar Brar and officers including JCP Saumya Mishra, ADCP Sameer Verma and Rupinder Kaur Bhatti.
: Taking a leap towards equipping police with advanced equipment for swift investigation of crimes, commissioner of police Mandeep Singh Sidhu on Saturday inaugurated a digital forensics lab at Sarabha Nagar police station that would provide technical assistance to police districts under the Ludhiana range.
The lab is equipped with latest technology and trained police staff. It would provide technical assistance to police stations falling in Khanna, Ludhiana Rural, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar and Ludhiana Commissionerate.
Earlier, mobile phones and other electronic gadgets confiscated from criminals, including drug peddlers used to be sent to the Digital Investigation Training and Analysis Centre (DITAC) lab of the state cyber crime cell Phase-4 Mohali. It would at times take over one month for them to investigate and send the report back due to the heavy workload.
Sidhu said the in-house lab having the same technological configuration will cut short the time duration of the investigation by a huge margin.
He said that the lab will also help with cyber crime cases registered at the Ludhiana Commissionerate as they require swift action.
The lab is equipped with an in-depth analysis of different types of electronic devices, including tablets, smartphones, and laptops. The lab can recover data from SD cards, hard drives, pen drives, and central processing units. He said that some of the equipment being used is the same as that used in national-level labs.
{{/usCountry}}The lab is equipped with an in-depth analysis of different types of electronic devices, including tablets, smartphones, and laptops. The lab can recover data from SD cards, hard drives, pen drives, and central processing units. He said that some of the equipment being used is the same as that used in national-level labs.
{{/usCountry}}He said that the lab will function under ACP Raj Kumar Brar and other officers, including JCP Saumya Mishra, ADCP Sameer Verma and Rupinder Kaur Bhatti also played a role in establishing the lab.
{{/usCountry}}He said that the lab will function under ACP Raj Kumar Brar and other officers, including JCP Saumya Mishra, ADCP Sameer Verma and Rupinder Kaur Bhatti also played a role in establishing the lab.
{{/usCountry}}24/7 helpdesk
{{/usCountry}}24/7 helpdesk
{{/usCountry}}Sidhu said that the city police have also established a 24/7 helpdesk for complaints regarding cyber crimes and had also launched a helpline number.
{{/usCountry}}Sidhu said that the city police have also established a 24/7 helpdesk for complaints regarding cyber crimes and had also launched a helpline number.
{{/usCountry}}He said that in the last 87 days, as many as 572 complaints have been received through the helpline number.
{{/usCountry}}He said that in the last 87 days, as many as 572 complaints have been received through the helpline number.
{{/usCountry}}As many as 1,134 complainants visited the helpdesk and registered their complaints. A total of ₹58.99 lakh was recovered acting on 19 complaints.
He said that the cyber crime unit also arrested two members of a gang in March using fake identity cards to dupe people.
