Dedicated unit planned to tackle cybercrime

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said on Tuesday that the government plans to establish a full-fledged, institutional cyber security unit to tackle the growing threat of cybercrime.
The proposed unit will be staffed by officers with engineering, IT and computer backgrounds and headed by an additional inspector general of police, he said at the 21st meeting of the Police Staff College (PSC) board of management at the college in Mirpur.
He said the Police Headquarters, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) and Criminal Investigation Department (CID) currently investigate digital crimes and conduct forensic analysis separately, but a permanent and coordinated structure is needed to deal with the growing scale and 
complexity of cybercrime.
The meeting also discussed strengthening the professional skills of police officers, including hiring trainers where necessary and introducing Master’s programmes in Forensic Science and Financial Crime at the PSC.
Later in the afternoon, after a meeting with multiple stakeholders at the home ministry, Salahuddin said the government had intensified coordination among ministries, departments and service agencies to ensure integrated development of Dhaka and its adjoining areas and reduce public suffering caused by repeated road excavation.
“We want all development activities in Dhaka and its adjoining areas to be carried out in a coordinated manner. There should be no repeated digging of the same road,” he said.
He said stakeholders would meet every 15 days to address traffic congestion caused by ongoing mega-projects in the capital.
Utility shifting for metro rail construction was being carried out in coordination with traffic authorities, while an AI-based traffic management system had been introduced to improve road discipline and ease congestion, he said. The government was also finalising land acquisition and plans to relocate major bus terminals, including those at Mohakhali and Fulbaria, outside the city.
Authorities were also considering a long-term system of dedicated, covered utility corridors to prevent repeated road excavation for utility works, the minister said. On battery-run autorickshaws, he said a policy had been formulated to regulate small three-wheelers and battery-operated vehicles on major roads. Joint drives were continuing to disconnect illegal charging points using unauthorised electricity connections.
On the proposed schedule for local government elections, Salahuddin said the Election Commission’s plan was tentative and did not constitute a final decision.
An inter-ministerial meeting involving secretaries of different ministries will be held tomorrow, after which the EC will prepare the election schedule based on the opinions received, he said.
Asked about the banned Awami League’s procession in Gulshan, the minister said intelligence agencies had received reports of the planned event, but police had not anticipated that people arriving in the area ostensibly for Friday prayers would stage a procession.
He said the banned Awami League periodically engaged in subversive activities, including small processions after Fajr prayers that were filmed and circulated online.
“We have observed these processions involving small numbers of people,” he said, adding that some of the group’s activities occasionally came to light in this way.
On 11 September, at around 11:45am, leaders and activists of the banned Awami League and its affiliated organisations, including the banned Chhatra League, held a procession in Gulshan. Police attempted to disperse the crowd, prompting participants to throw crude bombs at officers.