As per a written reply from union minister for Home Affairs in Lok Sabha in August last year, as many as 65893 cyber crime cases were reported from across the country in the year 2022 whereas such crimes number stood at 50035 in 2020
A 35-year-old woman teacher ending life by suicide in Mauganj district of Madhya Pradesh on Sunday evening, having been harassed by cybercriminals should set an alarm bell ringing in the corridors of the government which must deal with iron hands and take a prompt action to institute a central investigation agency like NIA to deal with such crimes and criminals.
The woman teacher who was threatened by the criminals with arrest had already paid more than Rs 20000 to the criminals who were harassing her to give Rs 30000 more to them. The criminals as reported to police by relatives of the deceased, impersonated as police and Army officials and told the woman teacher that her cell phone number was used to commit some criminal offence, hence she needed to pay some amount to them to avoid arrest.
As per the complaint, the criminals sent two video clips too to the woman teacher. In one of the videos, the criminals can be seen in police inform and in the other in police and Army uniforms.
As the criminals continued to exert pressure on the teacher to pay the money, otherwise, as they threatened, she could be arrested any time, the woman felt so scared and intimidated that she chose to consume some poisonous substance to end her life. She was rushed to a nearby hospital but she could not be saved.
It’s just one of many such incidents reported from across India in which criminals impersonating as police or some national investigation agency officers intimidated their targets and exported good amount of money.
It’s only three months back when cybercriminals held a 77-year-old retired engineer in Delhi under digital arrest and forced him to pay to them Rs 10 crore, his entire savings. The victim was held under digital arrest for about three weeks at a stretch by criminals who impersonated as courier company, Mumbai police and CBI officers who accused the elderly man that he had sent a package to Taiwan which contained some prohibited drugs.
The retired engineer paid Rs 10.30 crore in the 19-day period from September 25 onwards to the criminals bank accounts in three instalments to get his name cleared in the alleged crime. The victim realised only later that a fraud had been committed with him but it was too late.
A complaint was lodged with the police which are looking into the same.
The cybercriminals are so well trained and sophisticated in their operation that even a Border Security Force (BSF) inspector was held under digital arrest for 30 days recently during which he was manipulated to pay Rs 71.20 lakh to criminals.
The inspector lives in BSF Tekanpur, Gwalior Academy premises. He was made to pay the amount through 34 transactions.
Earlier, last year a retired woman teacher in Gwalior was defrauded of Rs 51 lakh, her entire savings post-retirement, by cybercriminals.
In this case, the criminals threatened the woman with arrest alleging that the SIM (Subscriber identity module) of her mobile phone was used to send some child pornography materials and that some illegal transactions had been reported in her bank account.
INCREASING CYBER CRIMES
As per a written reply from union minister for Home Affairs in Lok Sabha in August last year, as many as 65893 cyber crime cases were reported from across the country in the year 2022 whereas such crimes number stood at 50035 in 2020.
As per a report tabled in the Lok Sabha, the conviction rate in cyber-crime cases in the year 2021 was as low as 3.6%.
LIMITATIONS OF POLICE
Understandably, the central government which has taken some initiative to help the victims of cyber crimes like launching of a National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal expects that such crimes will be dealt with the state governments as policing is a state subject.
However, the fact remains that the police departments in the state are already understaffed and they lack proper training and resources also to deal with such crimes.
As most of the criminals operate from other states or countries the local police doesn’t take much interest in investigating such crimes it would mean the department would have to get involved a good number of police personnel in investigating such crimes. Investigation involves herculean tasks like visiting other states or countries. Hence, the police personnel mostly avoid taking such investigation to a logical end.
NIA LIKE AGENCY
The need of the hours is setting up of an agency like National Investigation Agency (NIA) and bringing cyber crimes reported from across the country under such an agency with an amendment in the law and constitution. Also, there is a need of a stricter law and harsher punishment to such criminals, no less than life imprisonment.
