The place which trains modern-day Byomkesh Bakshis
While every police station can handle forensic analysis of mobile devices, they need to know how to do it without altering or damaging the phones, tablets or GPS units being examined.
A girl goes missing from Rajpura. Her mobile phone is switched off. Worried that she has been kidnapped, her family approach the police for help. The men who are tracing her, however, are not your regular policemen. They train detectives.
The cyber expert of the group who also specialises in mobile phone forensics soon zeroes in on an outbound train from Rajpura.
The speed at which the girl’s mobile location is changing (even though it is switched off) attracts his attention. Pinpointing the train’s location, he contacts the family and they send a relative to the nearest railway station to identify the girl and get her back home. The case is solved in a jiffy.
Ever wondered where such sleuths, very much like Sherlock Holmes or Byomkesh Bakshi, are trained? When it comes to the city, the Central Detective Training Institute (CDTI), Chandigarh, is a nursery of sorts for detectives. Located close to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory here, this institute functions under the Bureau of Police Research and Development, Ministry of Home Affairs.
Apart from police officials from Punjab, Haryana and the Central police organisations, CDTI also trains policemen from the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries.
Scientific aids
DIG BM Sharma, director, CDTI Chandigarh, says in-service police personnel dealing directly with criminal cases and from the ranks of sub-inspector to deputy superintendent of police, are often not aware of the scientific aids to foolproof investigation, law and procedure. They also need to be updated on the latest technology to nab criminals and solve cases.
“Most of the cases do not stand a chance in court since the investigating officers are not adequately trained to handle cases of rape, economic offence, recovering and preserving digital evidence, organised crime, human trafficking, cyber crime, drug trafficking (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act),homicides, prison management and infringement of intellectual property rights", shared Sharma.
Interestingly, these detectives are also taught soft skills.
It takes expertise in mobile or digital forensics to crack cases today, says DIG Sharma. While every police station can handle forensic analysis of mobile devices, they need to know how to do it without altering or damaging the phones, tablets or GPS units being examined.
CDTI, Chandigarh, currently trains police personnel from Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chandigarh and Delhi, conducting 48 courses every year. Similar CDTIs are located at Hyderabad, Kolkata, Jaipur and Ghaziabad.