Kozhikode: K Sanjay Kumar Gurudin, commandant of Kerala Armed Police fourth battalion and cyber security expert, would be leading the state's first ever cell exclusively for fighting cyber crimes against children. Kerala's initiative, touted to be first of its kind in the country, is to detect, prevent and tackle online crimes against children. State police chief Loknath Behera had on December 5 ordered the immediate setting up of an exclusive team in the light of the increasing online crimes against children.

On December 13, the DGP named Sanjay Kumar as the head of the team - Counter Child Sexual Exploitation (CCSE) team - with 13 officers, under him, including Malappuram district police chief Prateesh Kumar and Railways SP Merin Joseph.

Sanjay Kumar's book 'Is Your Child Safe?' released last year, was a widely read one and appreciated for creating awareness among children as well as adults regarding the looming threat of social media and online crimes. It was translated into three Indian languages – Malayalam, Hindi and Tamil. As a cyber security expert, he regularly writes on topics related to cyber crimes in reputed news portals including Onmanorama. Earlier this year, he had completed the Chevening Cyber Security Fellowship in the UK.

The team will function under the overall control of Inspector General of Police (IG), Thiruvananhapuram range, Manoj Abraham, and under the direct control of Crime Branch IG Sreejith S. Manoj Abraham is the nodal officer of Cyberdome and Sreejith is the nodal officer for child protection.

The team will be responsible for setting up a digital system for reporting online child offences, online patrolling to detect digital exploitation of children and prevention of online abuse and exploitation of children. They will also be responsible for initiating criminal action against offenders involved in the above crimes.

The CCSE team will also inform and educate organisations, parents, teachers, frontline service providers and children on various issues related to online child abuse and exploitation. Various organisations working under the ambit of Interpol have already vouched their support, and has offered to train and provide resources for the team.

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