News Source:- http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=130813
Neeraj Pattath is one of an elite group of youngsters bringing cops up-to-date about cyber crime
Mumbai, May 24: NEERAJ Pattath (17) is quite the average teenager. He’s appeared for his SSC exams. He hates maths. He loves surfing the Net.
There’s just one major difference. For the last three months, Pattath has been helping teach policemen how to detect and solve cyber crimes at Worli’s Mumbai Cyber Lab. A joint venture by the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) and the Mumbai Police, the lab was initially meant exclusively for city police officers.
Its staff now also trains everyone from sub-inspectors to additional commissioners of police in Mumbai as well as officers in Thane, Pune and Nashik.
Pattath is the latest—and youngest—in a batch of 15 volunteers aged 17 to 30 that the lab has been using since March 2004.
‘‘It’s strange, but in 2002, I approached the Mumbai Cyber Crime Investigation Cell for a job. They said I should only apply after I’d completed my Std XII and police training. I found that too long-drawn-out and just continued surfing the Net. Today, I train the police.’’ Interestingly, Pattath today is awaiting his class tenth results—his fourth attempt at that.
In his class, policemen aged 35 to 50 first learn how to surf the Net and send e-mail. Each batch of 15 is then given a crash course in how hacking happens and basics like how to trace an e-mail or Internet Protocol (IP) address—all in one seven-day camp.
The course also includes case studies that illustrate and explain various sections of the Information Technology Act, 2002, so the policemen can familiarise themselves with the basics of the legislation.
‘‘Every month, we call in two or three instructors from among these 15. They’re all registered with Nasscom and they help out depending on their schedule,’’ said Nasscom Project Head Vikrant Pawar. ‘‘And with the help of these training sessions, policemen are now in a better position to register complaints and guide complainants.’’
Though the instructors currently work for free, both the Mumbai Police and Nasscom are working on a proposal to get them on to the payroll.
‘‘But I don’t really mind working gratis,’’ smiles senior volunteer Pritam Kale (25). A rank holder from Matunga’s Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute, Kale admits that many of his classmates are now earning as much as
Rs 30,000 per month. ‘‘But I don’t think their life is half as exciting as mine,’’ he grins.
And the ‘students’ admit they’re enjoying the course. ‘‘I like it so much that I wish I could stay longer,’’ said Inspector Abhay Saigaonkar (45) of the Byculla police station.
‘‘I used to be clueless about cyber crime,’’ added G Neklikar (40) of the Dharavi police station. ‘‘Now, I can guide complainants knowledgeably and even trace e-mail and IP addresses.’’
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