The Himachal police will soon set up a cyber-crime lab using Nirbhaya funds. These funds are especially earmarked for initiatives aimed at enhancing the safety and security of women in the country.

• Contrary to the national trend, sexually-offensive cases have surpassed fraud cases as cyber criminals are targeting women in Himachal.
• On an average, 60 per cent cyber-crimes reported in the past three years were against women.
• Most of the cases have been registered in Baddi police district where against five cases of crime against women registered in 2019, nine have been registered this year. Besides, 55 cases of all types of cyber-crime have been registered since 2019.
• About 60 to 90 cyber complaints are received every week and the maximum cases of cyber-crime reported by women are related to the creation of fake profiles and IDs, virtual stalking, transmitting sexually-explicit material, blackmailing through morphed photographs, fake chatting and calling on WhatsApp.
• Women were the targets in 30 out of 56 cases in 2017, 52 out of 69 cases in 2018 and 47 out of 76 cases in 2019. Out of 47 cases registered last year, 25 were of cyber pornography, hosting, publishing obscene sexual materials, seven for cyber stalking and cyber bullying and six each for fake profile and other crimes.
• As per the National Crime Record Bureau, women were victims in 53 per cent, 75 per cent and 60 per cent of the total cyber crime cases reported in Himachal in 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively, against the national average of 19 per cent, 22 per cent and 19 per cent, respectively, which in itself was alarming.

The state government had given Rs 1.48 crore of Nirbhaya funds to the Forensic Science Department to set up a cyber crime lab some time ago. We will request the government to transfer this amount to our department for setting up the lab, as we lack the requisite tools and resources to check cyber-crime against women.