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Case brief: Student was cyberbullied and stalked after he was threatened due to a post uploaded on Facebook which was political in nature.

Question: This is not the first case of self-harm in IITK, several students have died by suicide due to stalking or harassment. Will colleges ever be a safe space for students? The number of students going through depression and dealing with anxiety is only increasing and college authorities don't seem to be doing anything about it.

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"Nikhil had posted a political comment on his Facebook post and started receiving threats and abuses. We advised him to delete his account two months ago and create a fresh account, which he did. However, he always felt that he is being stalked. We recommended him counselling and informed his parents. I cannot exactly tell about the content of the post due to police investigation. I am not sure about noticing any behavioural changes in Nikhil," said associate professor Debashis Chakraborty of mining engineering department.

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Police probing cyber-bullying angle after IIT Kharagpur student falls to death from hostel

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The initial investigation found that Nikhil Bhatia had been depressed after he received threats in response to a highly political post he uploaded on his Facebook account.

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Case brief: The cyber cell arrested a 9th grade student of a private school for allegedly circulating morphed obscene pictures of 9 girl students of his school on social media

Summary: Shocking thing is the boy obtained the photos from the school online portal! It was accessible only to parents, students and the school community which the college denied. It was circulated in a Snapchat group - booked under section 67A of IT Act section 13 of POCSO Act | Parents approached police | "The school denied the charges and said the incident did not occur in school nor through their portal!"

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Chandigarh: The cyber cell of the police has arrested a Class IX student of a private school for allegedly circulating morphed obscene pictures of nine students of his school on social media.
Police claimed to have recovered a mobile phone from the boy containing the morphed photos. Cops would send the phone to Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) for analysis and recovery of data.

Police said all the morphed pictures had been deleted from the social media platform. The boy was sent to a juvenile home in Sector 25 on Friday.
The incident had come to light when a parent arrived to pick up his daughter from the school on Tuesday, only to find her broken and stressed. She revealed that her manipulated photos had been uploaded to a Snapchat group. Parents had reached out to police control room on Wednesday and sought assistance from SSP Kanwardeep Kaur. Police had then registered a case under Section 67 A of the IT Act and Section 13 of Pocso Act.
Parents had alleged that the photos of girls were obtained from a school online portal accessible only to parents, school staff, and students, charges the school administration denied.
The Chandigarh Commission for Protection of Child Rights was also looking into the matter and had sought a report from the school and police.

We also published the following articles recently

Morphed pics of 9 school students go viral, FIR filed
A case has been registered under the IT Act and Pocso Act after photographs of nine students were allegedly lifted from a school portal, morphed, and circulated on social media. The incident came to light when a parent discovered manipulated photos of his daughter on a Snapchat group. The school denied the charges and said the incident did not occur within the school or through their portal. The police are investigating the source of the viral photos with the help of the cyber cell. The Chandigarh Commission for Protection of Child Rights is also looking into the matter.

Pune: Parents protest harassment of junior students by seniors in Sahakarnagar school
Parents of students at an English-medium school in Pune gathered to protest against the alleged physical harassment of their children by senior students. Eight boys in classes I and IV reported inappropriate touch and harassment by seniors in classes XI and XII. The police have registered a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) and the Maharashtra Prohibition of Ragging Acts. The school principal has also been booked for not acting on the parents' complaint. The police are investigating the involvement of other senior students.

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal urges parents of govt, MCD school students to attend parent-teacher meet
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has called for parents to attend a two-day parent-teacher meeting (PTM) in government and Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) schools. The PTM aims to discuss students' progress and enhance parental involvement in education. Education Minister Atishi emphasized the importance of parental participation in improving academic achievements. The initiative is part of the government's commitment to transforming MCD schools and follows the success of similar efforts in Delhi government schools. Parents have expressed enthusiasm for the PTM and hope for positive changes in their children's schools.

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Class Ix Boy Arrested In Morphed Pics Case | Chandigarh News - Times of India

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Chandigarh: The cyber cell of the police has arrested a Class IX student of a private school for allegedly circulating morphed obscene pictures of nin.

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Case of Sock Puppet, Social Media Platforms

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Case brief: City cybercrime police on Wednesday arrested a 20-year-old man for cyberbullying a 19 year old girl as she refused to be in a relationship with him.

Summary: Creating fake accounts not just one but two to harass the girl is insane. Platforms should be able to detect such fake profiles and awareness on reporting such fake profiles should be created so students know what to do immediately

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AHMEDABAD: City cybercrime police on Wednesday arrested a 20-year-old man from Satellite for allegedly bullying and sexually harassing a 19-year-old girl from Sola, after she refused to enter a relationship with him.
According to police, Deep Kansara, a resident of Silicon Valley Apartments near Shivranjani Crossroads, who works with a real estate developer, befriended the girl, a second-semester BBA student, around six months ago.

Kansara later began pursuing her to have a relationship with him. As she refused, he created a fake social media profile in her name and began posting obscene messages from it to malign her.
Kansara allegedly created two more fake IDs on social media using which he harassed the girl to such an extent that she had to stop attending college. The girl's father, who runs a hotel business, approached cybercrime police on May 19.
During the investigation, police found that Kansara had created the accounts to harass the girl.

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One Held For Cyberbullying Of 19-year-old | Ahmedabad News - Times of India

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City cybercrime police on Wednesday arrested a 20-year-old man from Satellite for allegedly bullying and sexually harassing a 19-year-old girl from S

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Case brief: Former friend of a 26 yo woman continued to trouble her by sharing their past chat history and her photos on social media

Summary: Private chats made public! Why can't messaging apps like WhatsApp add the feature of notifying the user when someone screenshots or maybe not giving the authority to take screenshots at all?

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A 26-year-old woman has ended her life in Kerala's Kottayam district following alleged cyber bullying of her former friend, the police said.

The police said that V M Athira, a native of Manjoor in the district, was found dead at her home on Monday, a day after she lodged a complaint against her male friend named Arun Vidyadharan who lives barely a kilometre away.

Following the suicide of Athira, Arun has been booked on charges of abetting suicide, officials said. The youth has gone into hiding.

According to the police, despite Athira snapping her friendship with Arun, he continued to trouble her by sharing their past chat history and her photos on social media, especially after Athira's family was getting marriage proposals for her.

Athira's brother-in-law Ashish Das, a Manipur cadre IAS officer, in his Facebook post said that his sister's suicide can no better be termed murder by a cyberbully. "I promise you my dear, your killer will be brought to justice and ensure maximum punishment. Will make sure this fate will not happen to any other girl," Das stated.

Athira had complained to the local police against Arun alleging that he was insulting her on social media.

Ashish Das told reporters on Tuesday that Athira resorted to the extreme step following cyberbullying. "After Athira complained to the police, Arun stepped up the attack and threatened her. We, the family members, comforted her and stood with her. She was very upset that Arun had dragged my name also into the issue," he said.

Kaduthuruthy police station house officer Sajeev Cheriyan said that the police got the complaint on Sunday night. "Immediately, we called Arun and asked him to report at the station the next day. We have traced him and he will be arrested soon," said the inspector.

Athira had reportedly got estranged from him due to his shady dealings with drug peddlers.

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Cyberbullying: Kerala woman ends life, male 'friend' booked

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Athira's brother-in-law Ashish Das, a Manipur cadre IAS officer, in his Facebook post said that his sister's suicide can no better be termed murder by a cyberbully.

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Outing and Trickery | New scam activities targeting students increase worldwide: Report - Times of India 

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Outing and Trickery targeted towards students

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Outing and Trickery targeted towards students

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Case brief: Scammers are using tactics such as fake giveaways and fraudulent scholarships to trick students into providing personal information

Questions: Identity theft and financial fraud | Personal data should not be revealed and students should be educated on how to deal with online scams and stay safe online.

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As students worldwide prepare to return to their schools and colleges Kaspersky's team of cybersecurity experts has uncovered a significant increase in fraudulent activities. The report notes that scammers are preying on the frenzy surrounding academic preparations and purchases and cybercriminals launch sophisticated phishing campaigns targeting students, educators, and administrators alike.
How scammers are trapping students
One of the scamming tactics employed by fraudsters is the creation of fake giveaways promising students a chance to win a laptop, the report notes.

To be eligible for this prize, victims are instructed to provide personal information and indicate their preferred laptop model.
In another version of this scam, individuals are asked to share a specific link leading to a page with a prize draw with 15 contacts through WhatsApp. Subsequently, they are required to engage in the draw by registering via SMS.

Another fraudulent form of deception revolves around fake scholarships. Scammers exploit students' hope for financial aid, luring them into fraudulent scholarship schemes. Victims are enticed by seemingly genuine scholarship offers that promise financial assistance.
To take advantage of this aid, students are asked to provide personal information, including sensitive data like Social Security numbers and bank details. This information is later used for identity theft and financial fraud.

How to identify such scams and stay safe
The allure of winning a laptop or another valuable item is the bait, but there is a catch: Winners are informed that they must cover the delivery costs for their supposed prizes. This demand for additional payment serves as a distinct indicator of a fraudulent scheme.
The prospect of winning a laptop or other valuable item acts as an enticement. However, besides the offer is too good to be true, a clear sign this is a scam is that the supposed winners are informed they need to pay delivery costs for their alleged prizes. This request for additional payment is a telltale sign of a fraudulent operation.
To stay safe against education fraud, Kaspersky experts also recommend:
Stay Skeptical: Exercise caution when encountering "too good to be true" offers, especially if they require payments or personal information upfront.
Verify the Source: Thoroughly research any scholarships, giveaways, or offers that come your way. Look for official contact details and confirm legitimacy before taking any action.
Secure Your Information: Avoid sharing sensitive data online unless you're certain about the legitimacy of the request.
Use Trusted Sources: Stick to official school websites, recognised scholarship platforms, and reputable retailers when making payments or providing personal information.
Enable Multi-Factor Authentication ( MFA ): Activate MFA wherever possible, adding an extra layer of security to your online accounts. Use a reliable Password manager that doesn't just store your passwords but also generates one-time passwords for 2FA automatically.

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New scam activities targeting students increase worldwide: Report - Times of India

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As students prepare to return to school, cybersecurity experts have observed an increase in fraudulent activities targeting them. Scammers are using t

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Doxxing and morphing | Students raise complaints of possible cyber fraud in Guwahati

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Case brief: The incident took place at the Beltola Mahavidyalaya Senior Secondary School, where around 60 students reportedly received threats over calls. The callers threatened them regarding the release of their edited photographs over the Internet. The students mentioned that they have been receiving these threats since September 23, where unknown people have been calling to blackmail them using a large array of phone numbers.

Questions: Cybercriminals threatening students over call regarding release of edited photographs | Principal of the school failed to take action | Students reached out to the police | Unsure of how the criminals got their contact details - leak of personal details | lack of strict measures to protect data by the school. How did the criminals get the photographs and contact details of students? Why isn't the school protecting sensitive information?

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Some of the students mentioned that they had approached the principal of the school regarding the incident, but he failed to take action. Following this, the students approached the Basistha Police, demanding strict action against the cyber criminals, who reportedly asked them to seek help from the crime branch of the Assam Police. Meanwhile, the key questions raised by many of the students are how the cybercriminals could get the details of these students and if they were the only ones who were facing such problems.

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Students raise complaints of possible cyber fraud in Guwahati

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An unexpected situation unfolded in the Beltola area of Guwahati on Friday after several female students raised complaints that they had been targeted by cyberc

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16 year old queer teen Instagram influencer

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16 year old queer teen Instagram influencer

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Case brief: A 16-year-old queer teen named Priyanshu Yadav aka Pranshu, died by suicide in Madhya Pradesh. They were a self-taught make-up artist. They had an Instagram channel filled with make-up-related content. Their dream was to become like the popular American YouTuber James Charles.

Question: Voice notes leaked and used by cyberbullies! How can voice notes leak without a middle man? WhatsApp community groups are just not safe but is there a way WhatsApp can combat this. Leaking of photos and messages - there should be a mechanism to stop these

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A call to the Ernakulam Rural Cyber Police Station to enquire about the procedures involved in cyber-harassment cases was received with genuine concern. The officer, who attended the call, mistook this reporter to be a victim, and was at his courteous best, forthcoming to help. Later, the call was transferred to Inspector M B Latheef, who patiently explained the system. "There are various types of cybercrime - cyberbullying, impersonation, hacking and defamation, etc. They fall under different sections of the IT ACT, 2000," he says. "Once the crime is proven, the maximum punishment is imprisonment for three years. For defamation, one has to directly approach the court."On cyber harassment by trolls, Latheef says, if a complaint is filed, officers can track the abusive profiles and charge the people behind them. "To remove fake/anonymous accounts, we have to first alert the social platforms. Only they can remove profiles,"he adds.

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Pranshu's suicide and aftermath: 'Progressive' Kerala no better as cyberbullying against queer people at an all-time high

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KOCHI: Some days ago, a 16-year-old queer teenager, Priyanshu Yadav aka Pranshu, died by suicide in Madhya Pradesh. A self-taught make-up artist, they (gender-n

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Highest case of cyberbullying recorded in the state of Maharashtra

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Highest case of cyberbullying recorded in the state of Maharashtra

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Case brief: 37 per cent of the students revealed that they were affected by some sort of cybercrime including their accounts being hacked, cyberbullying, being threatened online, harassment by strangers and even receiving pornographic content.Most student's accounts were hacked, how do the hackers get the data? Whether is it because of the lack of strong infrastructure to protect children's data from school or is it because student's unknowingly give away personal information while messaging on social apps!

Question: Most student's accounts were hacked, how do the hackers get the data? Whether is it because of the lack of strong infrastructure to protect children's data from school or is it because student's unknowingly give away personal information while messaging on social apps!

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80% cybercrimes faced by school students in Maharashtra go unreported: Study - Express Computer

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As per a recent study conducted by Responsible Netism and Cyber Peace Foundation supported by Maharashtra State Council of Educational Research and Training (MSCERT), 80 per cent school students in Maharashtra between the age groups of 10-17 do not report cybercrimes they face online to their parents, teachers and the police; 33 per cent preferred to delete their content while 31 per cent informed their friends about it

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Case brief: A college student created an app on Github where photos of Muslim women journalists and activists were posted for an online auction

Question: Engineering student | creators of the app identify as "Trads" (stands for "traditionalists”), who promote genocide against minorities. Indian women that includes journalists, social workers, students and famous personalities. All of these women were Muslims. Legal provisions in India are very weak and in fact amplify this issue even more with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023.

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Delhi Police today arrested a Madhya Pradesh man who is the alleged creator of the application 'Sulli Deals'. This is the first arrest made in the "Sulli Deals" app case.

The app, which was launched last year, had listed Muslim women for 'auction' with photographs sourced without permission and doctored.

' Sulli Deals' and the recently created ' Bulli Bai' applications allegedly uploaded photos of Muslim women without their consent and inappropriate remarks were passed against them. Both the apps used the hosting platform 'GitHub' to auction the stolen photos.

The accused, Aumkareshwar Thakur, was apprehended by the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) of Delhi Police in Madhya Pradesh's Indore.

"Om Thakur has been arrested from Indore. He is the main mastermind behind the Sulli deal app case," said KPS Malhotra, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations Unit, Delhi Police Special Cell.

Thakur, 26, did his BCA from IPS Academy in Indore and is a resident of Newyork City Township, they said.

Police said that Thakur developed the code for the 'Sulli Deals' on GitHub and shared the app on Twitter.

In January 2020, Thakur had joined a group called 'Trade Mahasabha' using the Twitter handle 'gangescion'. The group members would often discuss how to troll Muslim women, police said.

After the application 'Sulli Deals' was created, the members from this Twitter group allegedly uploaded photos of several Muslim women, including prominent personalities.

Thakur had deleted all his social media accounts after the app hit the headlines recently. Police are questioning him and scanning through the gadgets they found on him.

Police identified and arrested Thakur on the basis of the inputs they received during the questioning of 'Bulli Bai' app creator Niraj Bishnoi. Other than Bishnoi, three other accused have also been arrested in the Bulli Bai app case.

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"Sulli Deals" Muslim Women 'Auction' App Creator Arrested In Indore: Police

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Delhi Police today detained a Madhya Pradesh man who is the alleged creator of the 'Sulli Deals' app.

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15 year olds passing lewd comments on women 

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15 year olds passing lewd comments on women 

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Case brief: Indian police have taken a 15-year-old boy into custody for participating in an Instagram group chat that shared images of underage girls and made lewd comments about them.

Question: Bois Locker Room case - First case out of Instagram in India. 15 year olds! Should Instagram take responsibility? Boys parents? School for not educating? Instagram has policies and features now that tackle but why do such happen even today

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Indian police have taken a 15-year-old boy into custody for participating in an Instagram group chat that shared images of underage girls and made lewd comments about them.

The group, "Bois Locker Room", is believed to comprise young schoolboys in the capital, Delhi.

Screenshots of chats on the group have been shared widely on social media.

The incident has caused outrage in Delhi, which is already seen as one of India's most unsafe cities for women.

The 2012 rape and murder of a medical student in the city led to a global outcry and the passage of more stringent laws against rape and sexual assault.

However, there has been little indication that the situation has improved since then.

How did the group become public?

Several Instagram users who had been made aware of its existence began posting about the group and calling out members for their behaviour.

It turned out that members were sharing images of their classmates and other underage girls without their knowledge or consent along with crude comments ranging from body shaming to jokes on sexual assault and rape.

Woman kills self 'over WhatsApp bullying'

Why are Indian women being attacked on social media?

The screenshots began to be widely shared on WhatsApp as well as Twitter and other social media platforms.

But Shubham Singh, a cyber expert who works closely with law enforcement and was one of the first people to begin investigating the group, has cautioned that many of these screenshots look edited.

He added that there appeared to be a mix of images from this group and some similar groups that exist on other social media platforms like Snapchat.

He said he started looking into the group after some Instagram users got in touch with him and sent him screenshots.

"I tried to investigate it properly but no-one was coming forward to file a complaint. So we tried to find out who was behind the group. They had deleted their Instagram accounts but through the screenshots and some tools, I was able to trace them," he said.

Mr Singh then passed on the information to the police, which has now led to one teenager being taken into custody.

What else has happened?

The Delhi Women's Commission (DCW) has asked for an investigation into the group.

It issued a directive to the Delhi police to file a case against the perpetrators and submit a report detailing exactly what action had been taken so far.

Police say they started their investigations after being made aware of the matter, but have told local media that a school had also filed a criminal complaint over the same case.

They are likely to bring more members of the group into custody soon, they added.

Meanwhile the DCW has also issued a notice to Instagram, asking for the details and IP addresses of all the members of the group, and asking the social media site to detail exactly what action it has taken to deal with the situation.

In a statement Instagram said that they did not allow "behaviour that promotes sexual violence or exploits anyone, especially women and young people", adding that they had taken action as soon as they were made aware of the group.

Pawan Duggal, chairman of the International Commission of Cyber Security Law, says that the social media company has to be more liable.

"Instagram cannot say they don't know this was happening. They have to cull out such content voluntarily. The police can go after them if they fail," he told the BBC, adding that this group was the result of India being "too soft" towards intermediaries like social media networks.

What causes such behaviour?

Mr Duggal says his organisation has noticed a "massive increase" in the number of children visiting pornography and other "dark web" sites during the lockdown imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus.

"In the last 40 days of the lockdown, there have been massive sociological and psychological changes in society with children being indoors and not sharing their online activities with parents," he said.

He added that while they don't have scientific data, the commission had observed a rise in this trend - visits to pornography sites and sexual fantasy groups - during the lockdown.

However, senior psychologist Dr Roma Kumar, said such groups existed even before the lockdown, but said the unusual situation could make them more prevalent.

Mr Duggal said authorities had to send a strong message, and that the law had to "come up with a very strong hand" against the members of the group to discourage such behaviour from recurring.

There has been a lot of outrage and abuse directed at the members of the group already, with many people publicly calling for them to be arrested.

The names and Instagram handles of the members have also been made public on social media platforms.

However, Dr Kumar told the BBC that going after the members of the group in public on the internet was counterproductive and would not solve the issue in the long term.

"The aim is not to damage them. The aim is to get them out of this kind of behaviour," she said, adding that these chats were typical of the kind of high-risk behaviour that children of this age indulged in.

"The problem also is that with the internet, children are much more exposed to this kind of content, and they think that this is desirable behaviour. The only thing that can help is prolonged counselling so that they can see what they did was wrong," she said.

"Going after them will only make them more angry and defensive, and will not solve the issue. We want these boys to reform and become better members of society."
Reporting by Andrew Clarance and Ayeshea Perera

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Indian teens' lewd Instagram group causes outrage

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Indian police have taken a 15-year-old boy into custody for participating in an Instagram group chat that shared images of underage girls and made lewd comments about them. The group, "Bois Locker Room", is believed to comprise young schoolboys in the capital, Delhi. Screenshots of chats on the group have been shared widely on social media.

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Students photo morphed and circulated on social media

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Students photo morphed and circulated on social media

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Case brief: Copying photos from social networking platforms, morphing and circulating them

Question: 4th year engineering student’s photo was taken from social media sites, was then morphed and then circulated on WhatsApp and Instagram. Even though she approached the police, they did not know what to do!

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JAIPUR: Cases of miscreants copying photos of people from social media sites, morphing them and then circulating on Instagram and WhatsApp are rising in the city.
The police have registered several cases of identity theft, harassment and cyber bullying on these two social media platforms.
On Sunday, Neha (name changed), a fourth-year engineering student at a private university, approached the Bajaj Nagar police.

Accompanied by her friend, she registered a complaint against an unknown person for copying her image and posting it on an adult page on Instagram.

"It took me four days to muster courage to file a complaint with the police. The morphed photo was first noticed by my friend and by now, it has been circulated among a few of my friends," said Neha.
Though the police registered the case, they themselves are not sure how to handle such cases.
Another student of a private university in Jagatpura area lodged a case with police that her photo was copied from her Facebook account and circulated with a vulgar caption on WhatsApp.

She too had filed a complaint but the police failed to trace the accused till date.
Rajendra Sharma, SHO, cyber cell police station, expressed inability in solving most of such cases.
He said, "The servers of most of the social media sites are based outside India, and so they are out of the ambit of Indian laws. The most effective remedy is awareness on handling social media accounts."
"Instagram has a help page through which a victim can approach the social media authorities and report the case. In cases related to WhatsApp, it is difficult to the track the origin," said Mukesh Choudhary, a cybercrime consultant to Rajasthan Police.

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'Cyber crimes involving morphed photos rising' | Jaipur News - Times of India

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Cases of miscreants copying photos of people from social media sites, morphing them and then circulating on Instagram and WhatsApp are rising in the c

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Case of doxxing, morphing, and harassing of girl students

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Case of doxxing, morphing, and harassing of girl students

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Case brief: Around 20 female students from a private college in Guwahati have fallen victim to cyber criminals who morphed their photos into obscenes ones and made them go viral on social media

Question: Photos were taken from Whatsapp groups of college students, girls were harassed and obscene pictures were made! Even a private messaging application is not safe to use! With the advancement in technology, even a normal picture can be morphed and shared across platforms? How to regulate it? Should sharing photos be restricted? But why? How to report such incidents so necessary actions are taken immediately

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Girl students’ obscene pics made viral in Guwahati , probe on | Guwahati News - Times of India

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Around 20 female students from a private college in Guwahati have fallen victim to cyber criminals who morphed their photos into obscene ones and made

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Case brief: A college student created an app on Github where photos of Muslim women journalists and activists were posted for an online auction

Question: Engineering student | creators of the app identify as "Trads" (stands for "traditionalists”), who promote genocide against minorities. Indian women that includes journalists, social workers, students and famous personalities. All of these women were Muslims

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Delhi police on Thursday arrested a 20-year-old student named Niraj Bishnoi and named him as the main conspirator behind the online application Bulli Bai that put hundreds of Indian Muslim women up for an online "auction".

The arrest comes days after Mumbai police took three others into custody in connection with the case.
What is the Bulli Bai app?
On New Year's Day, hundreds of Muslim women in India including journalists, social workers, and other prominent personalities found their images and derogatory content about them on a new app called "Bulli Bai".

The app, created on hosting platform Github, offered an online "auction" of Muslim women.

It derives its name from the phrase Bulli Bai, a derogatory term used for Muslim women.

Users who opened the app were shown images of women - mostly doctored photos - with the tag line: "Your Bulli Bai of the day".
Second such app in months
The app is clearly an example of online trolling - no actual transactions were available on it - and it is the second time an app like this has emerged in India in a span of just around six months.

Last year in July, a similar app called "Sulli Deals" had surfaced. Sulli Deals was also hosted on Github.

Like the Bulli Bai app, Sulli Deals featured photographs of hundreds of prominent Muslim women and offered them for "auction".

Users who opened the app were shown images of women, with a similar tagline: "Your Sulli Deal of the day".

No arrests were ever made in the Sulli Deals case, though the app was eventually taken down by GitHub.

"We suspended user accounts following the investigation of reports of such activity, all of which violate our policies," GitHub had then said in a statement.

Earlier Delhi Police sources said they were trying to find the "main conspirators" in the Sulli Deals case, reported The Hindu on Wednesday.

The sources had earlier said that authorities were using the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) to obtain information about the creators of "Sulli Deals" from California-based GitHub.
Outrage on social media
Soon after the images surfaced on the Bulli Bai app on Saturday, many women said on Twitter that the "online auction" was happening all over again because of police inaction in the Sulli Deals case.

Women said the app was part of the routine harassment they faced on social media in an increasingly polarised environment under the right-wing, Hindu-nationalist Narendra Modi government.

Ismat Ara, a journalist on whose complaint the Delhi police had filed an initial chargesheet or First Information Report (FIR) last week, then told The Independent: "This is not the first time that this has happened. This has happened repeatedly with vocal Muslim women who highlight issues that people don't want to talk about."

After a day-long outrage on Twitter, India's federal information and technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said a probe had started and GitHub had been requested to block the users involved.

The Indian government faced a backlash from opposition parties who said police and government inaction had only encouraged the targeting of Muslim women online.
Four arrests in the case
While the Delhi police - controlled by India's federal home ministry - faced flak for not acting promptly in both the cases, police in Mumbai made three arrests in the case.

On Monday, Mumbai police arrested 21-year-old Vishal Jha, an engineering student from Bengaluru.

Police arrested 19-year-old Shweta Singh from the northern state of Uttarakhand a day later and another suspect, Mayank Rawat, was arrested on Wednesday.

Mr Rawat is a 21-year-old student at Delhi University who is also from Uttarakhand.

On Thursday, Delhi police said Mr Bishnoi was the "main conspirator" in the case, after arresting him from the northeastern Assam state.

"Special Cell has arrested the main conspirator and creator of the bullibai app on Github (sic). With the arrest, the controversial Bulli Bai app case has been solved completely," said KPS Malhotra, a top Delhi police official of its special cyber cell unit.

What is Bulli Bai scandal - app that listed Muslim women for auction

What is Bulli Bai scandal - app that listed Muslim women for auction

Police officials escort a 20-year-old man after he was arrested in Delhi for being the alleged 'main conspirator' who created the Bulli Bai app

Reuters

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What is Bulli Bai scandal - Indian app that listed Muslim women for auction

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Hundreds of Muslim women were put up for an online 'auction' on an app called Bulli Bai

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Outing and trickery through a dating app

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Outing and trickery through a dating app

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Case brief: 20 year old college student was raped by a gang of men when he went on date with a man he matched on Grindr.

Question: The legal justice system does not consider this as a crime as it is same sex. The men verbally abused on the basis of caste, physically assaulted for hours and also started recording the act on a smartphone and when he went to the police station, police officers disregarded the issue and kept saying how can a man be raped!

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A 20-Year-Old Went On A Grindr Date. Now He Is Fighting A Court Case | BOOM

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Queer people hope to find connection on Grindr. But what happens when a date turns into a nightmare?

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Case brief: Teenage girls’ photos were taken from Instagram and stalked on social media by 2 men

Question: Two men taking profile photos from Instagram, morphing them and sending the morphed photos to girls on Instagram makes me question why does Instagram still allow people to create multiple fake accounts even now and even if the victim blocks that account, the perp can easily create another one and start harassing!

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RAJKOT: Two men were arrested in separate cases for alleged cyberstalking of teenage girls by morphing their pictures on social media by the Rajkot cyber crime police on Wednesday.
The accused, who in both the cases are in their mid-20s, had morphed the picture of minor girls and harassed them by sending them obscene pictures.
In the first case, police arrested Ejaz alias Soyeb Bhadula (25), a resident of Bhagvatipara. According to police, Ejaz, a vegetable vendor, had downloaded the Class 11 girl's pictures from her Instagram account on December 31, 2021. He morphed the picture and posted it on another Instagram account that he had created. Using his account, Ejaz used to send the morphed pictures to the teenage girl.
In the second case, police arrested Nilesh Khakhra (28), a resident of Manavadar town in Junagadh district for allegedly harassing a 16-year-old Rajkot girl over social media. Nilesh, who is unemployed, had downloaded the pictures of the girl from her Instagram account and morphed them with pictures of nude models. Police said that Nilesh also asked the victim to send him her nude pictures which she had been ignoring for the last two months.
When the girl's father came to know about the online harassment, he approached the cybercrime police station.
Both the accused were booked under IPC sections 354 (a) (b), 66 (c ) and under the Information Technology Act.

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Two Men Held For Cyber Stalking Teenage Girls | Rajkot News - Times of India

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RAJKOT: Two men were arrested in separate cases for alleged cyberstalking of teenage girls by morphing their pictures on social media by the Rajkot cyber crime police on Wednesday. The accused, who in both the cases are in their mid-20s, had morphed the picture of minor girls and harassed them by sending them obscene pictures.

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Case of zoombombing by two college students

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Case of zoombombing by two college students

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Case brief: Two college students were arrested in a case of zoom bombing for flashing and sharing obscene content during the video call. Zoom has tried to keep its platform secure with more restriction and privacy features

Question: Online meeting ethics need to be set in place to keep such incidents happening with strict punishments.

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BHOPAL: Two college students have been arrested by Madhya Pradesh cyber cell headquarters for allegedly 'zoombombing' virtual classes with pornographic contents and flashing own privates.
This is the first of its kind of a case in which investigators have seized a pair of slippers as evidence against these students, said police.
Zoombombing is a term being used for cyber harassment wherein uninvited users interrupt online classes/meetings over the Zoom video conference software app.

Offenders gate-crash gatherings for nasty purposes believing they wouldn't be traced ever, say police.

Accused BBA student Aniket Singh Rajput (22) -- resident of Maharishi Patanjali Colony -- and NEET aspirant Aditya Singh (20) -- resident of Gandhi Nagar area -- have been charged under sections of 43/63, 67, 67A of IT Act and Section 294, 354 A and 509 of IPC.
Initially, they started it with an intention of interrupting female teachers to get classes suspended but then they started enjoying it, say police.
They belong to a lower middle class family.

Investigations started after state cyber cell chief ADG Yogesh Deshmuk received a complaint from Career College that someone hacked into their virtual viva test on June 3 and flashed pornographic contents.
Complaint also said that they were facing similar problems since February this year.
Female teachers had to suspend their online classes over these explicit contents several times.
The matter was reported to local police stations also, but nothing happened, said sources.
Following ADG Deshmukh's instructions, this case was taken over by ASP (cyber cell) Vaibhav Srivastava and his team.
"Investigation was not easy at all. They were using a burner sim. We have to carry out massive field exercises to zero in on the suspects," says Srivastava.
An important clue that the investigators had with them was a screenshot of the online meeting in which the background of the suspect was visible.
There was a building with two dish antennas on it.
Officers contacted multiple service providers to trace the location.
After identifying the area, geo locating the cellphone, police reached Aniket Singh.
After some verification he was rounded up and questioned.
He confessed to his crime and spilled the beans.
Based on his statement, police arrested Aditya Singh, another student who was his distant relative.
Aniket told interrogators that he had shared ID and password with Aditya for interrupting the online classes and exams.
He also confessed flashing his privates during the online classes and texting vulgar messages to his teachers.
"His slippers had to be seized as evidence since it can have been seen in one of the videos in which he had flashed his privates. Mobile phone, SIM and other evidence are also there," said Srivastava lauding efforts made by his team.
Police have received more than 12 complaints against them from the school teachers who said that they were receiving obscene messages on their phones from unknown numbers.
This number was being used by the accused students, said police.
Inspector Mahesh Tandekar, sub-inspector Zeenat Qureshi, SI Sachin Yadav, head constable Brijesh Pandey and Arvind Mehra played a key role in the investigations.
"There is a need for schools and colleges to create awareness among students against cybercrimes. They must know that every cybercrime is traceable. We would happily provide assistance to institutes in creating awareness," said the additional SP.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault.)

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Zoombombing: MP students flash privates to stop online classes; cops seize slippers | Bhopal News - Times of India

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Two college students have been arrested by Madhya Pradesh cyber cell headquarters for allegedly 'zoombombing' virtual classes with pornographic conten

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First case of cyberstalking reported in India

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First case of cyberstalking reported in India

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“Stalking an Indian lady, Ms. Ritu Kohli by illegally chatting on the web site, www.mirc.com using her name; and used obscene and obnoxious language, and distributed her residence telephone number, invited people to chat with her on the phone” - Source: docs.manupatra.in

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“The case was filed by the woman on basis of sending obscene messages. The case has set a standard for convicting the offenders who send offending messages which defames, annoys a person because of its obscene and vulgar nature. The case is of prime importance also in the field of providing online evidence under section 65B of the Indian evidence act in the court for the first time.” -

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“The case is considered a watershed moment for online free speech in India”
Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 made it a punishable offence for any person to send 'grossly offensive' or 'menacing' information using a computer resource or communication device. The provision also made it punishable to persistently send information which the sender knows to be false for annoyance, inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred or ill will. Additionally, Section 66A made it punishable to send an 'electronic mail message' for the purpose of causing annoyance, or inconvenience, or to deceive or to mislead the recipient about the origin of the message.
The vague and arbitrary terms used in the Section led to much misuse of both personal and political nature, with several criminal cases being instituted against innocuous instances of online speech, including political commentary and humour.”

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Ritika Sharma (Name changed for privacy concerns) was a Delhi school girl who after being cyber stalked and threatened reported the crime to Delhi police. She had befriended a stranger on social networking platform Facebook and ended up sharing her WhatsApp contact, residential address and other personal details with the stranger”
Source: https://medium.com/legitimus/popular-legal-battles-on-cyber-crimes-in-india-d08f2f0c22e5

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Delhi schoolkids increasingly coming under attack from cyber bullies

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Nearly 60 per cent of the Capital’s school students and youth using social media face the risk of cyberbullying, a Delhi Police survey has found.

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Women and girls are targeted to deepfake content

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Women and girls are targeted to deepfake content

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Case brief: Cyber crimes are on the rise and women and children are the most affected victims

Question: Women and children are being targeted where 128 victims were women and 121 minor girls - mainly to deepfake content and sexually explicit material | Even elderly are mainly targeting to financial frauds. It's always women, children, non-binary and girls who are targeted. Can the internet ever be a safe place?

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December 05, 2023 01:12 am | Updated 12:12 pm IST

The cases of cybercrime nearly doubled in the Capital in 2022, according to the annual report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), with the police attributing the rise to innovative methods employed by fraudsters to gain access to the victims' personal data.

A senior police officer said cybercrime cases have risen in proportion to the number of people using online platforms to make financial transactions, which have increased manifold over the years.

According to the 'Crime in India' report released on Sunday by the NCRB, 685 cases of cybercrime were recorded in the national capital in 2022, against 345 incidents reported in 2021 and 166 in 2020.

These cases include incidents of financial fraud, crime against women and children with regard to sexually explicit material, and deepfake content. A total of 128 such victims were women, the most among the 19 metropolitan cities for which data was collated. Moreover, 121 minor girls were also among the victims.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Cyber Cell IFSO) Hemant Tiwari told The Hindu, "With greater financial inclusion, digitisation of beneﬁciary data and increasing dependence on online transactions, fraudsters have moved from largescale snatching and pickpocketing to looting money through (website) link sharing and OTP frauds." He added that the ease of reporting cases online has also enabled more people to register complaints against such fraudulent activities.

'Elderly easy target'

According to another officer, elderly people are being increasingly targeted by fraudsters.

"Many senior citizens aren't aware of using UPI (features) and they fall prey to online scams. We have deployed police personnel to pay regular visits to senior citizens to tell them about the dos and don'ts of using payment applications," he said.

Mr. Tiwari said in several cases, nabbing an accused was comparatively easier than retrieving the defrauded amount as fraudsters were found to be using newer ways to cheat people.

Last December, a 65-year-old man lost all his savings to fraudsters who posed as Electricity Department officials. The police said they sent the man messages claiming that the power supply to his home would be discontinued and asking him to submit his personal details on a fraudulent application to avoid the action.

Mr. Tiwari said cases of deepfake videos and photographs are also on the rise. The officer said such cases require coordination with social media platforms like Facebook and X (formerly Twitter). They are required to issue legal notices through the Ministry of Home Affairs, which causes delays, he said.

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Cybercrime cases nearly double in Delhi; fraudsters using novel ways, say police

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Cybercrime cases in Delhi nearly doubled in 2022, with 128 women and 121 minor girls among the victims. Police attribute the rise to fraudsters using innovative methods to gain access to personal data. They are targeting elderly people and using deepfake videos and photos.