Government to Set Up Digital Forensic Labs in All Eight Divisional Headquarters

The government will soon establish digital forensic laboratories in the headquarters of all eight divisions to improve cybercrime detection, digital evidence analysis and investigative capabilities, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has said.

He made the announcement on Wednesday, October 14, while responding to journalists after inaugurating the Criminal Investigation Department’s (CID) Cyber Police Centre and Digital Forensic Laboratory at Dampara Police Lines in Chattogram.

The minister said the new facility and laboratory had been established with support from the South Korean government and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). He thanked the South Korean government, its ambassador, KOICA representatives and the delegation from South Korea for their assistance.

Salahuddin Ahmed said the government had been planning to establish a police cyber unit from the outset. The unit officially began operations on October 1 under the leadership of an additional inspector general of police.

The newly inaugurated digital forensic laboratory will operate under the CID’s leadership. Different police units will coordinate their work in analysing and examining digital evidence, he added.

The minister said crime patterns had changed, with cyberspace increasingly being used for fraud, financial crimes and stock market manipulation. Modern digital forensic laboratories were essential to preventing and investigating such offences, he said.

He added that the government planned to strengthen digital evidence analysis capabilities from the central level down to divisional, district and upazila levels under the leadership of the Cyber Police Unit. Police would be equipped with modern laboratories, technological tools and other necessary resources to keep pace with evolving criminal methods.

The minister also highlighted the need to expand the CID’s existing laboratory facilities. He said the CID had operated chemical laboratories since its establishment, but its capacity for testing samples and preparing reports needed further expansion.

Those attending the event included South Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh Kim Ji-jun, Chattogram-10 MP Saeed Al Noman, Inspector General of Police Md. Ali Hossain Fakir, Additional Inspector General Sardar Nurul Amin and KOICA Bangladesh Office Director Ji-hoon Kim. The event was chaired by CID Additional Inspector General Barrister Mohammad Mosharraf Hossain.