Dhaka: Mentioning that the number of cyber-crime-related incidents is on the rise, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Md Asaduzzaman Mia on Saturday said they were facing trouble in controlling the new type of crime in the country.

‘We’re facing difficulties in reigning in cyber-crime as we haven’t yet developed capability to this end,’ he said while talking to reporters after attending a debate on the ‘Use of social media in preventing juvenile crimes’ as the chief guest at Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (BFDC).

Debate for Democracy organised the event chaired by its Chairman Hasan Ahmed Chowdhury Kiron.

‘We’re trying to devise ways to prevent cyber-crimes. The government is formulating a law for cyber security,’ the DMP commissioner said.

Though there is no alternative to exchange of information in this era of information technology, the government should impose some restrictions on some apps like Whatsapp, Telegraph, Viber and IMO as it does not know what types of information are exchanged through these apps. ‘We don’t know whether the exchanged information is risky or harmful for the country’s security.’

He said there should a bilateral agreement between the government and service providers to control the use of these apps, saying without any deal, they (service providers) do not give information.

‘So, it’s possible to control cyber-crimes through bilateral agreements as people’s freedom of expression can’t be curbed,’ Asaduzzaman said.

Earlier, addressing the debate programme, the DMP boss said though juvenile crime has become a threat, social media is not solely responsible for it. ‘Rather, it’s one of main reasons. Social awareness can reduce the rate of juvenile crime,’ he said.