Mumbai, August 28: There’s a tussle at the entrance of most cyber cafes lately.
Beena Nair, a young advertising executive, was in for an unpleasant surprise on Wednesday evening when she decided to check her mail at a cyber cafe at Churchgate.

‘‘Not only do I have to write my name and full address in the customer log book, but also provide my phone number,’’ she fumed.

After much hesitation, Nair did give her office number. ‘‘I guess this is all done in the name of security,’’ she conceded.

At Netsurf in Andheri (West), phone numbers of users are jotted down at not one but two places: At the main entrance, and then once again in the second floor cyber cafe.

‘‘This is mainly to re-check if customers have given us a genuine number. The police have given us a detailed list of instructions about how to maintain e-vigil,’’ said the branch manager.

The secretary of the Cyber Cafe Association, Yogesh Ahire, said: ‘‘There are nearly 500 cyber cafes in Mumbai, and some of them keep no check on who is coming or going.’’

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Enforcement), Dr Pradnya Sarvade, who is also in charge of the Cyber Crime Investigation Cell, said that efforts are underway to regulate all cyber cafes in the city. They may also have to procure a licence from the police.