Need dedicated cyber police station in every district to tackle cybercrimes against children: Justice Dept Secy
Hyderabad, Oct 4 (TNT): Department of Justice Secretary Niraj Verma on Sunday called for strengthening the legal and institutional framework to tackle cybercrimes against children, including setting up at least one dedicated cyber police station in every district and creating a unified national mechanism to handle such cases.
Addressing a session on the concluding day of the two-day NALSA South Zone Regional Conference here, Verma said the NCRB’s Crime in India 2024 report showed that while overall crime in the country declined by 10.8 per cent, crimes registered against children increased by 46 per cent.
He said 89 per cent of cybercrimes against children involved Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), while 96.6 per cent of offenders prosecuted under the POCSO Act were known to the victims.
Verma said five states — Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh — accounted for more than 66.4 per cent of registered cybercrimes against children and housed around 67 per cent of specialised cyber police stations in the country.
Against 800 administrative districts, India currently has 441 functional cyber police stations, he said, stressing the need for at least one dedicated cyber police station in every district.
He said data under Sections 4 and 6 of the POCSO Act indicated that 98 per cent of victimised children were girls, with those aged between 16 and 18 years constituting 53 per cent of the victims.
Verma cautioned against the emerging threat of AI-generated and deepfake synthetic CSAM, saying existing criminal statutes did not adequately address morphed sexualised imagery involving no physical child.
He said the rapid expansion of digital connectivity and the anticipated arrival of 6G technology would create new challenges, including hyper-immersive augmented and virtual reality environments and real-time synthetic media.
Pointing to institutional gaps, Mr Verma said agencies and portals including the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, CERT-In, Child Welfare Committees and State Cyber Crime Cells were functioning through separate systems rather than an integrated case-management mechanism.
He also highlighted challenges in cross-border investigations, including delays in Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties, encryption-related difficulties and limitations in the existing legal framework governing intermediary responsibilities.
Verma called for dedicated cyber investigation and prosecution cadres and clearer statutory provisions relating to cyberbullying, sextortion and cyber offences beyond CSAM.
He proposed five legislative principles — technology-neutral laws, agile delegated rule-making, affirmative obligations on platforms, dedicated enforcement cadres and streamlined cross-border evidentiary procedures.
He also proposed three institutional measures under NALSA: creation of a unified national portal integrating existing systems through APIs, a consolidated NALSA helpline and live monitoring of child cybercrime cases through the National Judicial Data Grid.
Verma stressed the need for stronger coordination among law enforcement agencies, legal services institutions, technology platforms and other stakeholders to protect children from emerging cyber threats.
TNT TS
