Mumbai: Amid rising cybercrimes in Maharashtra, home minister Dilip Walse Patil on Friday said the home department is working on putting in place a regulatory mechanism. The minister said cybercrimes are not just restricted to Maharashtra but it is a national and global issue.
"Cybercrimes are a big challenge. We will come up with a blueprint to curb cybercrimes and a regulatory body will be set up," said Walse Patil. He admitted that cybercrimes are increasing in the state saying that by using technology people are blackmailed.
‘’I had recently convened a meeting of officials and asked them to pay adequate attention to curb cybercrimes. Each district has a cyber police station. There are four cyber police stations in Mumbai. I have written to the central government and Google regarding cyber crimes seeking their cooperation,’’ said Walse-Patil.
‘’Some apps are dangerous. Students are also falling victim to apps promising loans. This is not just a national but an international issue. It is being explored whether a regulatory mechanism can be set up to effectively tackle cybercrimes,’’ he noted.
Walse-Patil’s announcement is important especially when Maharashtra tops in cyber crimes against minors. Maharashtra saw a 196% rise in cyber offences against children from 2019 to 2020, making it displace UP nationally in this crime metric as the number one state. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, just one person was convicted in the country out of 116 arrested for cyberstalking children in 2020.
Further, cybercrimes rose in Maharashtra from 4,822 cases in 2019 to 5,458 cases in 2020 but the detection rate remained at 18% in both years, which is a significant drop compared to 2018 when the detection percentage was 32.8%.
