Recently i came across some articles which showed a considerable rise in cases of Cyber Stalking in India.
Well lets draw an overview on this latest facet of cyber crime :
Cyber Stalking can be defined as the repeated acts harassment or threatening behavior of the cyber criminal towards the victim by using internet services. Stalking in General terms can be referred to as the repeated acts of harassment targeting the victim such as following the victim, making harassing phone calls, killing the victims pet, vandalizing victims property, leaving written messages or objects. Stalking may be followed by serious violent acts such as physical harm to the victim and the same has to be treated and viewed seriously. It all depends on the course of conduct of the stalker.
Both kind of Stalkers Online & Offline – have desire to control the victims life. Majority of the stalkers are the dejected lovers or ex-lovers, who then want to harass the victim because they failed to satisfy their secret desires. Most of the stalkers are men and victim female.
How do they Operate
Collect all personal information about the victim such as name, family background, Telephone Numbers of residence and work place, daily routine of the victim, address of residence and place of work, date of birth etc. If the stalker is one of the acquaintances of the victim he can easily get this information. If stalker is a stranger to victim, he collects the information from the internet resources such as various profiles, the victim may have filled in while opening the chat or e-mail account or while signing an account with some website.
The stalker may post this information on any website related to sex-services or dating services, posing as if the victim is posting this information and invite the people to call the victim on her telephone numbers to have sexual services. Stalker even uses very filthy and obscene language to invite the interested persons.
People of all kind from nook and corner of the World, who come across this information, start calling the victim at her residence and/or work place, asking for sexual services or relationships.
Some stalkers subscribe the e-mail account of the victim to innumerable pornographic and sex sites, because of which victim starts receiving such kind of unsolicited e-mails.
Some stalkers keep on sending repeated e-mails asking for various kinds of favors or threaten the victim.
In online stalking the stalker can make third party to harass the victim.
Follow their victim from board to board. They “hangout” on the same BB’s as their victim, many times posting notes to the victim, making sure the victim is aware that he/she is being followed. Many times they will “flame” their victim (becoming argumentative, insulting) to get their attention.
Stalkers will almost always make contact with their victims through email. The letters may be loving, threatening, or sexually explicit. He will many times use multiple names when contacting the victim.
Contact victim via telephone. If the stalker is able to access the victims telephon, he will many times make calls to the victim to threaten, harass, or intimidate them.
Track the victim to his/her home.
Definition of Cyberstalking?
Although there is no universally accepted definition of cyberstalking, the term is used in this report to refer to the use of the Internet, e-mail, or other electronic communications devices to stalk another person. Stalking generally involves harassing or threatening behavior that an individual engages in repeatedly, such as following a person, appearing at a person’s home or place of business, making harassing phone calls, leaving written messages or objects, or vandalizing a person’s property. Most stalking laws require that the perpetrator make a credible threat of violence against the victim; others include threats against the victim’s immediate family; and still others require only that the alleged stalker’s course of conduct constitute an implied threat.(1) While some conduct involving annoying or menacing behavior might fall short of illegal stalking, such behavior may be a prelude to stalking and violence and should be treated seriously.
Nature and Extent of Cyberstalking
An existing problem aggravated by new technology Although online harassment and threats can take many forms, cyberstalking shares important characteristics with offline stalking. Many stalkers – online or off – are motivated by a desire to exert control over their victims and engage in similar types of behavior to accomplish this end. As with offline stalking, the available evidence (which is largely anecdotal) suggests that the majority of cyberstalkers are men and the majority of their victims are women, although there have been reported cases of women cyberstalking men and of same-sex cyberstalking. In many cases, the cyberstalker and the victim had a prior relationship, and the cyberstalking begins when the victim attempts to break off the relationship. However, there also have been many instances of cyberstalking by strangers. Given the enormous amount of personal information available through the Internet, a cyberstalker can easily locate private information about a potential victim with a few mouse clicks or key strokes.
The fact that cyberstalking does not involve physical contact may create the misperception that it is more benign than physical stalking. This is not necessarily true. As the Internet becomes an ever more integral part of our personal and professional lives, stalkers can take advantage of the ease of communications as well as increased access to personal information. In addition, the ease of use and non-confrontational, impersonal, and sometimes anonymous nature of Internet communications may remove disincentives to cyberstalking. Put another way, whereas a potential stalker may be unwilling or unable to confront a victim in person or on the telephone, he or she may have little hesitation sending harassing or threatening electronic communications to a victim. Finally, as with physical stalking, online harassment and threats may be a prelude to more serious behavior, including physical violence.
A close look at a cyber stalking case in our country :
The Delhi Police has recently registered India’s First Case of Cyberstalking. One Mrs. Ritu Kohli complained to the police against the a person who was using her identity to chat over the Internet at the website http://www.mirc.com/, mostly in the Delhi channel for four consecutive days. Mrs. Kohli further complained that the person was chatting on the Net, using her name and giving her address and was talking obscene language. The same person was also deliberately giving her telephone number to other chatters encouraging them to call Ritu Kohli at odd hours. Consequently, Mrs Kohli received almost 40 calls in three days mostly at odd hours from as far away as Kuwait, Cochin, Bombay and Ahmedabad. The said calls created havoc in the personal life and mental peace of Ritu Kohli who decided to report the matter.
Consequently, the IP addresses were traced and the police investigated the entire matter and ultimately arrested Manish Kathuria on the said complaint. Manish apparently pleaded guilty and was arrested. A case was registered under section 509, of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). And thereafter he was released on bail.
This is the first time when a case of cyberstalking has been reported. Cyberstalking does not have any one definition but it can be defined to mean threatening, unwarranted behaviour or advances directed by one net user to another user using the medium of Internet and other forms of online communication. Cyberstalking is a recent phenomenon and women generally are the main targets of this cybercrime..
The said case of Ritu Kohli raises numerous Cyberlaw issues. It may be pertinent to mention that the said case came up before the coming into force of the Information Technology Act, 2000, India’s maiden foray in Cyberlaw. The case has been registered under section 509, IPC which reads as follows :
“Word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman. – Whoever, intending to insult the modesty of any woman, utters any word, makes any sound or gesture, or exhibits any object, intending that such word or sound shall be heard, or that such gesture or object shall be seen, by such woman, or intrudes upon the privacy of such woman, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine or with both.”
A perusal of the entire section shows that the said section does not cover cyberstalking. The important ingredients of the said section includes that a word must be uttered or a sound or gesture must be made or any object must be exhibited. When a person chats on the Net for the purpose of the cyberstalking, he is neither uttering a word in the sense of the law nor making a sound or gesture nor exhibiting any object. The word chatting has been brought into coinage basically to describe a process by means of which various net users are simultaneously exchanging their views on the Internet with the help of technology. The net user is only working on his computer while chatting and that activity would not come within the ambit of Section 509 IPC even with the most liberal interpretation. Another issues is if no word has been uttered in the eyes of law or no sound or gestures has been make or object exhibited, then the question of intention behind the same would be very difficult to establish in a court of law, more so when the case relates to Cyberspace. Further, how would law enforcing agencies and the courts of law be able to find out about the intention to insult the modesty of any woman in cyberspace? It will be equally difficult to apply the other condition which talks about intruding upon the privacy of such woman ,stipulated in Section 509 IPC to cyberstalking. How would the courts adjudicate upon the intrusion of privacy of any woman in Cyberspace when cyberspace is a free, boundary less medium where privacy itself is at the center stage of controversy?
Even the new Information Technology Act, 2000 does not address the issue of Cyberstalking at all. Another Cyberlaw issue concerning cyberstalking is which court would have jurisdiction to try the offence of cyberstalking. There is a need to create more awareness amongst the legislature and the law enforcing agencies regarding this new cybercrime in order to enable its early regulation .
- With collected information from website of Mumbai Police, cyber crime bureau of India and various other sources.
