Mizoram | 88 cases registered as cyber crime on the rise in the state

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AIZAWL, July 9, 2018: At least 88 cases on cyber crime have been registered and seven people convicted in Mizoram since the first case was registered in the state in 2009.

Sources in CID (crime) said of the 88 cases, 52 have been chargesheeted and 40 others are under investigation. Five people have been acquitted, while eight cases could not be fully investigated, they said.

The first cyber crime case was registered on May 20, 2009, by a pastor, after his email account was hacked and a Nigerian national demanded Rs 1.8 lakh ($2500) from him. The number of cyber crime cases was highest in 2014 with 28 cases registered. This year, at least three cases have been registered, an official said.

Apart from instigating social media posts, bank fraud, monetary cheating and sexual harassment through the Internet are common, he added.

Between 2009 and 2014, the highest number of cyber crime cases were related to pornography and sex tapes which had been circulated on social networking sites, the official said.

The Mizoram cyber crime investigation cell was established under CID (crime) here on May 21, 2014. A complainant can lodge an FIR for any cyber crime cases at the nearest police station from where the cases are transferred to the cyber crime cell.

The government is making efforts to set up its first cyber crime police station by elevating the existing cyber crime cell. The Centre has sanctioned Rs 1.48 crore to establish the police station, a senior police officer said.

Deputy inspector-general (northern range) Lalbiakthanga Khiangte had earlier said bank frauds have been steadily increasing in Mizoram and therefore, a separate cyber crime police station is now a must. "In most cases, women and children become victims of cyber crime. The government is also trying to set up a cyber forensic laboratory and a cyber training centre," the official had said.

Source: The Telegraph

Image Courtesy: Research Leap