Warning: Schoolgirls Are A Soft Target in Pune

Experts voice concern over rise in stalking incidents of school and college girls in city through various social networking sites

Cyber crime cases reported in the city have shown a disturbing trend. Almost 15 per cent of the total are of stalking cases, with stalkers increasingly targeting schoolgirls, especially, through social networking sites.


Perilious: Experts say that is many cases, stalkers are  known to the
victim. Representation Pic

While most of the stalkers disguise themselves as strangers, police say they are mostly relatives, neighbours, jilted lovers or colleagues trying to settle old scores. Recently, a 40-year-old businessman was arrested on charges of molesting and stalking a 20-year-old girl for six years, whom he had  befriended six years ago on the social networking site Facebook.

Dangerous figures
Assistant Police Inspector (Cyber Crime Cell) Sanjay Tungar said, "The suspect, and sometimes also the victim, feels that they can hide their original identity with pseudo profiles on the social networking sites. Once acquainted with each other, the girls share personal information with the suspects which often lands them in trouble."

The statistics available with CCC reveals that out of the total cases registered under cyber crime, 15 per cent cases are about stalking through social networking sites. The victims in these cases, mostly girls, belong to the age group as low as 14 to 17," Tungar said. Supriya Kothari, who runs the Bhagini Helpline for women in distress, said: "Out of the 80 cases registered with the helpline, 66 per cent of the cases are of girls and women between 15 to 35 years of age."

Kothari said, "The victims profile mainly consists of minor girls and young professionals working in the IT field who often are introduced to their stalkers through social networking sites. The stalkers who purport to be complete strangers are often known to the victim."

Awareness needed
In order to prevent schoolgirls from sticking their necks out, Tungar said schools should educate students about the dos and don'ts of a responsible netizens, just like the responsibilities of a good citizen are taught.
"Considering the number of minor girls targeted by stalkers, there's an urgent need to bring awareness and deal with the issue seriously," Tungar said.

Noted cyber crime lawyer, Advocate Vaishali Bhagwat said, "It is necessary to start the awareness campaign on safety and Internet use right from standard VII because persons who tend become vulnerable to Internet misuse are from the same age group."

Tips from experts
* Be discrete about sharing personal details. Snap ties at the first instance that you feel acceptable norms of decency have been infringed upon.
* No need to add friend's friends. Add only those people whom you know very well.