Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)
Bengaluru, Nov 17: It has been found that there was a 1,340 percent increase in the number of cyber crimes against the children in the year 2020 as compared to the previous year. Moreover, Karnataka has been placed at the third spot in the country among the states reporting highest crimes.
The report of National Crime Records Bureau has thrown light on this aspect. Karnataka is third in the country as far as the number of crimes is concerned.
In Karnataka, a total of 144 cyber crime cases against children were reported in the year 2020. Compared to 2019, the number of such cases rose 1,340 percent in this year. Most of these cases pertain either to involving children in sexual acts or sending their videos. Out of 144 cases reported form the state, 122 related to the use of children for cyber pornography.
Maharashtra tops the list as far as the number of crimes is concerned with 207 such cases. Uttar Pradesh (197) and Karnataka (144) occupy the next two slots, the report mentioned. The next in ranking are Kerala with 126 cases and Odisha with 71.
These crimes saw a rapid rise after the pandemic spread in the country and lockdown was announced. People were confined to homes as their movements were restricted. Experts said that this gave them a chance to indulge in such crimes. Nagasimha G Rao, director of Child Rights Trust, has advised the children to stop sharing personal information with the others. "The children are increasingly using the internet because of online classes. This has directly contributed to the increase in cases. He notes that many parents hesitate from registering cases. It is worrisome that children younger than eight years of age are becoming victims of this crime. The parent who share photos of the children on social media entice cyber criminals to get involved with crimes. The teachers, parents and the government should work in tandem to see that the children do not fall prey to cyber crimes," he narrated.
Nagasimha has advised the schools to teach the children about the things they should and should not do when using the gadgets. They should he advised against responding to messages or photos coming from unidentified persons, he added. Joint police commissioner (crime), Sandeep Patil, said that the parents should be careful about what things their children and other members of the family share on the social websites. He said that understanding the shortcomings of the digital world, desisting from sharing phone numbers, address and other personal information with others, not engaging in conversation with unknown people through social websites, sending of messages etc increase chances of becoming victims of crimes, he added.