Gargi Verma & Nazia Sayed (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 15, 2017)

The Cyber Crime Wing of the Mumbai Police on Friday registered a defamation case against All India Bakchod (AIB), less than 24 hours after the group tweeted what the cops are calling an “obscene” picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Mumbai Police took a suo motu cognisance of a tweet to its official handle objecting to the PM being ‘mocked’, and promptly booked stand-up comedian Tanmay Bhat of the AIB for “defamation and publishing/transmitting obscene material in electronic form”.

Noting the alacrity shown by the Cyber Crime Wing in acting against AIB, this newspaper takes the opportunity to draw the Mumbai Police’s attention to the five victims of serious cyber crimes, who are either struggling to get the police to attend or act on their complaints.

Here’s hoping the Mumbai Police spokesperson, DCP Rashmi Karandikar, fast-tracks their complaints too.

‘Threatened with rape, morphed pics posted online’: Amena, Nagpada
THE CASE: Amena writes a blog on fashion. On April 12, she found her twitter handle was flooded with abuses and obscene messages from a particular handle. She said the abuses got worse, she was body-shamed, threatened with rape, and told her morphed pictures will be posted online. “I approached the police on April 12, but was subjected to a lecture on morals,” she said. “The cops told me I was ‘outspoken’, and was made to run between two police stations and the Cyber Crime Wing at the BKC. The complaint was finally registered on April 19,” Amena said.
Status: Three months down the line, no arrests made.

‘Lost Rs 19,900, cops refuse to file complaint’: Sagar Shah, Ghatkopar
THE CASE: Shah, 19, received a call on his mobile phone on January 5. The caller claimed to be an officer with the Greater Bombay Co-operative Bank, and told Shah his debit card would no longer be valid, and demanded details of the card. While Shah refused to divulge the details, he received an SMS saying Rs 19,900 were debited from his account in favour of One97 Communication.
Status: Shah has been repeatedly approaching the Cyber Crime Wing, but the cops haven’t even registered a case.

Prashant Dedhia, Powai
The complaint: On April 11, businessman Prashant Dedhia received several SMSes showing money from his account had been debited. He lost a total of Rs 19,000, and by the time he reached the police station, he had identified the phone number that was used to siphon off money from his bank account. “The cops just had to trace the SIM card, which was active for three days after I was cheated. However, the Cyber Crime Wing told me it can’t register a case as my account details could have been leaked due to my mistake. How ridiculous is that. The cops finally registered a case after five days because the media took it up,” he said.
Status: No arrests made, nor has Dedhia recovered his money.

Vaibhav Kangutkar, Chembur
The complaint: Kangutkar, a media professional, lost Rs 56,000 more than seven months ago, when he found that someone had used his debit card details at an electronics store. “The incident happened on January 1, and I was made to run from pillar to post by the cops. I have no hope of recovering that money,” he said.
Status: No complaint registered

Rizwan Siddiquee, Versova
The complaint: Well-known lawyer Rizwan Siddiquee tried filing a complaint with the Cyber Crime Wing in December 2016 against small-time actor Kamaal R Khan for posting derogatory comments on an actress. “Law being my profession, I am well-versed with the sections, but the Cyber Crime Wing refused to register the complaint citing some reason or the other. Finally, I had to approach the National Commission for Women to get a first information report registered,” he said.
Status: No arrest made.