“Majority of complaints come from girls.”
Rahiba R Parveen
SRINAGAR: When many years ago the rest of India saw the Internet world unfold before them, this valley, tucked in lofty Himalayas, dragged behind slowly.
Naturally, cyber crime was also unheard of.
But now with more than a million net users and growing – through broadband and on mobile phones – the dark side of the internet is slowly showing itself here too.
Statistics from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reveal incidents of cyber crime increased by nearly 200 per cent since 2011.
Last year there were around 35 such cases reported – and these were mostly related to obscenity and defamation through social media networks. Other cases include hacking and e-banking frauds.
‘Mixed Crowd’
Imran Farooq, Deputy Superintendent at the Cyber Cell of local police, says “Majority of complaints come from girls.”
He says acts such like morphing personal pictures of girls and uploading them, making abusive comments and sharing abusive pictures are common.
Most of the people found guilty of internet crimes in the valley belonged were aged 18 to 30 years. And they not only included students, but also well-educated professionals.
“There is a mixed crowd. We have had cases where a doctor, college and university students, and even a lawyer were traced,” Mr. Farooq says.
In grave cases, the “culprits” were handed over to the police stations of areas where the victims lived.
‘Losing Values’
There is a mixed crowd. We have had cases where a doctor, college and university students, and even a lawyer were traced – Imran Farooq, DSP, Cyber Cell.
The NCRB data also shows that internet crimes here revolve mostly revenge, greed and eve-teasing.
Prominent sociologist, Prof. Bashir Ahmed Dabla says “the situation” has arisen as technology has provided a mask to the society that is outwardly conservative, but beneath the veneer of which are fast degrading values.
“We are losing values…Now many develop intimacy with strangers through chatting and also feel free to develop a relationship with anyone as they are not watched over,” Prof Dabla says.
“Also youth are becoming more materialistic. They want to make quick money. So they indulge in frauds and crimes through internet.”
‘More Support’
A student at the University of Kashmir, whose identity has been withheld, told FreePress that somebody had hacked into her computer, and retrieved her photo which was later morphed.
“The person had used some obscene image and attached my face on it, then uploaded it on Facebook,” she says. “But officers at the cyber cell were great help. They helped in deleting all of those.”
Now many develop intimacy with strangers through chatting and also feel free to develop a relationship with anyone as they are not watched over: Prof Dabla, Sociologist
The student declined talking about the culprit, for her own reasons, but the cyber police have indeed been a relief to victims like her.
However, the cell was set up only last year, much much after internet arrived here. DSP Farooq says more needs to be done to tackle growing incidents of the new genre of crime.
“Right now our technical team assists individuals to the best possibility,” he says. “But we need more technical support.”
