The cybercrimes in Odisha are growing by leaps and bounds. When in 2019, the online crimes posted a massive 76 per cent surge, in the pandemic year, the count grew further by over 30 per cent.
And the big trend the NCRB 2020 report decoded is, the cybercriminals/thugs in the State excel in the 420 (cheating/fraud) and sexual exploitation acts. What seems to have emboldened the online criminals is the low charge-sheeting rate in the State. Odisha police could file chargesheets in only 1 in every 3 cases.
If the NCRB report is to be believed, the cyber crimes in Odisha are set to explode in near future. The big reason is in nearly half of the cases, though cops found the charges as true, they fail to trace out the digital footprints of the cyber-criminal.
Consider The Digits
In the year 2020, cops disposed of a total of 843 cases. But in a whopping 417 cases, though the charges were true, there has been no clue or digital evidence left to trace. For which, final reports have been submitted in the court of law.
The impact is big. Police could file charge sheets in only 282 cases. And the charge-sheeting rate then boils down to a mere 33 per cent. Moreover, the case pendency at the police level is high at 81 per cent. The charge-sheeting rate in the State is the 6th lowest in the country.
The Trend
A detailed glance at the report shows all those states that have submitted the final report in cases for lack of digital evidence, and, thus, carried the burden of a low charge-sheeting rate.
"The cybercrime is a new age crime. Odisha police need more expertise training and orientation sessions to bust the ever-growing digital crimes. As the cases are coming from small towns, and even villages, the cops there have little expertise to catch the digital trail," reasoned a senior IPS officer.
Cyber Crime Trend In Odisha
As per the NCRB data, over 68 per cent of cybercrimes in Odisha are 420 acts (fraud or cheating). Online banking and ATM frauds dominate the cybercrime scene in the State. It is followed by sexual exploitation - which means circulating sexually explicit acts to exploit the women/girl child.
In a significant 12 percent of cases, the cyber anti-socials in State go for the crime with an intention to exploit sexually the victim. The warning shot here is cyber crimes related to sexual exploitation had clocked a massive 75 per cent surge in the pandemic year.