Cyber Police Portal- How to Register a Cyber Crime Complaint in Cyber Police Portal@https://cybercrime.gov.in/: The Criminal Procedure Code deals with the process of criminal cases i.e., how a criminal complaint or FIR can be filed against the accused and further, it provides the procedure for criminal prosecution and disposal of criminal case. Similarly, the Code of Civil Procedure deals with the process of civil suits i.e., how the plaintiff can initiate proceedings by filing a suit in the civil court and how the defendant can record a written statement in response to the plaintiff.
In addition, it provides complete proceedings and litigation process. But how does a victim of cybercrime initiate a trial against the accused? Does he need to go to the police station or is there any other authority to accept the complaint of the victim?
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And is there any online portal to register complaint of cyber crime or is the process of filing complaint completely offline? This article answers these questions and some other questions related to cyber crimes in India. In order to understand the complete process of filing a cyber crime complaint, we need to understand what are cyber crimes?
What is Cyber Crime ?
Extortion, theft, sexual assault and harassment, blackmailing, stalking, terrorism, defamation, offenses related to obscenity, forgery etc. are some of the regular offenses that are punishable under the Indian Penal Code.
Extortion is intentionally putting any person in fear of injury and abetting to give him any property or valuable security, theft dishonestly taking away movable property from the possession of the owner, stalking any woman, contact or attempting to contact, establishing personal contact, forgery with intent to cause harm or injury to any woman, making false documents.
Person or any fraud, offenses relating to obscenity are sale, distribution or dissemination of any obscene books, pamphlets, images, paintings etc., committing any obscene act or reciting any obscene song in public, and defamatory words To speak or write or make any sign or visual representation and publish the same with the intention of damaging the reputation of any person.
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Types of Cyber Crime
Now, let us consider some scenarios where these crimes are committed using the Internet, computers, mobile phones, computer networks or any other electronic device:
Cyber Defamation and Cyber Bullying:
Publishing derogatory statements against the Chief Minister of any state on social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter.
Cyber Bullying
Posting obscene pictures of a woman on social media or blackmailing her with personal photos with the intention of obtaining sexual advantage, threatening her with rape through text messages. Making obscene pictures and videos of any woman indulging in personal activities using a mobile phone or camera.
Cyber Stalking
Sending messages to any woman on social media and making calls on her mobile phone despite her apparent ignorance. Selling pornography, pornographic images and videos through online platforms.
Cyber Theft
Stealing personal data, financial information or business/corporate data from any person or company from their computer system.
Cyber Fraud
Attaching fake electronic signatures to electronic contracts. Creating a false electronic document to produce as evidence against the accused in court. Cheating customers with damaged products on e-commerce platforms (Amazon, OLX India, Flipkart) and inducing them to pay for those products online.
Hacking
Hacking someone’s mobile phone or laptop with the intention of stealing data or damaging the data stored in the device.
Phishing
Sending fake messages or emails with a link to a particular webpage with the intention of causing victims to unknowingly enter personal data (contact details, bank account details and passwords, etc.) or to install harmful viruses into the victims’ devices as soon as they Open the link.
Hacking and Cyber Bullying
Hacking someone’s social media account to make fake posts on behalf of someone
Cyber Terrorism and Cyber Extortion
Hacking one’s computer to encrypt all the data and files stored in the computer and demanding a ransom to decrypt them.
In the above-mentioned scenarios, technology has been used, i.e. electronic equipment (computer or computer network or mobile phone) and the Internet (social media, e-commerce websites, fraudulent web pages and emails, etc.). There can be many other examples of cybercrime. The term ‘cyber’ includes everything related to computers, computer networks, computer devices, software, the Internet, email, websites, data storage devices and other electronic devices (mobile phones, ATM machines, etc.).
Therefore, when a crime is committed with the use of or with the participation of a computer, computer network, the Internet or any other Internet service or electronic device, it is called a cyber crime.
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How to Register a Cyber Crime Complaint in Cyber Police Portal
Cyber Crime complaints can be lodged with the Cyber Crime Cell. The process of filing a complaint is both online and offline, and the victim can choose the process as per his/her convenience. It is not necessary for the victim to file a complaint with the cyber crime cell of the city in which he resides or where the crime was committed as the cyber crime comes under global jurisdiction i.e. cyber crime complaint can be filed.
Cyber Crime cells have been set up in various cities of India so that people can get proper assistance in case of any injury or damage caused due to any cyber crime committed against them. These cells are creating awareness about cyber crimes and measures to avoid falling prey to such crimes. Cybercrime cells maintain cyber crime reports and also take care of investigations.
If the victim does not have access to any cybercrime cell, he can file an FIR at the local police station under section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. If the cyber crime committed against the victim is a cognizable offense under the Indian Penal Code, it will be mandatory for the police officer to register an FIR.
If the police officer refuses to register the victim’s complaint, the victim can make a written complaint to the judicial magistrate of his district who can direct the police officer to initiate an investigation. The documents required to file a cyber crime FIR depend on the type of cyber crime committed against the victim (social media crime, cyber bullying, mobile application crime, cyber extortion, etc.)
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Cyber Crime Complaint Offline Registration Process
Making a written complaint to the cybercrime cell has proved to be the most acceptable way of registering a crime as there are people who still cannot afford the internet or do not have the necessary knowledge. Victims of cybercrime can file a written complaint with their nearest cyber crime cell or any cyber crime cell established in India. The written complaint shall be addressed to the head of the Cyber Crime Cell and shall contain the following information of the victim or the person filin:
- Name
- Contact Details and Postal Address.
Other documents required to be attached with the complaint depend on the type of cyber crime committed against the victim. These documents are required to be attached with the complaint offline as well as online.
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Cyber Crime Complaint Online Registration Process
As technology is surpassing every traditional method, it has also overtaken the offline process of filing cyber crime complaints. Cybercrime complaints can be registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, which is to facilitate cyber crime complaints across the country and to make it possible for the victims/complaints to reach the cyber crime cell
The National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal is one of the components of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Center set up by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India and deals with all types of cyber crimes. Two types of complaints can be lodged on the portal:
Report a Crime Involving Women or Children
- Child pornography (CP)
- Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) – Content containing sexually explicit images (in any form) of a child being abused or exploited
- Explicit sexual content (eg rape/gang rape)
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Report Other Cyber Crimes
- Mobile Crime
- Social Media Crime
- Online Financial Fraud
- Cyber Trafficking
- Ransomware
- Hacking
Procedure for Reporting Cyber Crime Involving Women or Children
If the victim/complainant reports an offense involving women or children, he/she will have two modes of filing the complaint.
1. Report anonymously on the cyber police portal:-To file a cyber crime complaint anonymously, the victim/complainant has to follow the following steps:
- Visit the website of National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal https://cybercrime.gov.in/.
- The complainant will not have to provide any personal information and the complaint will be filed anonymously.
- Cyber crime related to child pornography (CP), child sexual abuse material (CSAM), sexually explicit material such as rape/gang rape (RGR) can only be reported anonymously.
While reporting cyber crime (related to women or children) on the portal, the complainant has to provide only the following information-
Incidental Statement
- Category of Cyber Crime
- The date and time of the incident (for example, when the sexual abuse video was uploaded to social media)
- State and district: where the victim is residing or where the crime was committed
- Platform where the incident occurred (WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, etc.)
- Upload evidence: image, video, document or link to CP/RGR material.
Description of Suspect
- Name of the suspect
- Identification of the suspect (email, driving license, mobile number, PAN card, etc.)
The complainant may also add other necessary details relating to the complaint or which he feels may be helpful in the investigation of the offense in the details column. There are some other documents and information that will be uploaded as evidence. Other documents required to be attached with the complaint depend on the type of cyber crime committed against the victim.
Once the complaint is successfully registered, the complainant will be provided with the PDF of his complaint which he can download from the portal.
How to Track Cyber Crime Complaint on Cyber Police Portal
Victims/complainants of woman or child related to cyber crime can also report the crime by providing their legal information and track the status of the complaint by logging in through their complaint ID. The complainant will get timely updates on all investigations and actions taken by the police officers on his registered mobile number and email id.
It is recommended that the complainant should report the offense through the “Report and Track” option as it will be helpful for the law enforcement agencies to contact him for more information or during the process of investigation. To report a cyber crime under the “Report and Track” option, the complainant/victim has to follow the following steps:
- Visit the website of National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal https://cybercrime.gov.in/.
- The complainant has to select the option of “Report and Track” while initiating the registration of the complaint on the portal and register himself with the use of his name and valid Indian mobile number. An OTP (One Time Password) will be sent to the mobile number provided by the complainant which will be valid for 30 minutes. After entering the OTP, the complainant will be successfully registered and can proceed with the complaint.
- Once the complainant is successfully registered, he/she has to select the category and sub-category of the complaint (CP/RGR/Sexually Explicit Content) and provide the following details:
Event Description
- The date and time of the incident (for example, when the sexual abuse video was uploaded to social media)
- Platform where the incident occurred (WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, etc.)
- Upload evidence: image, video, document or link to CP/RGR material.
description of suspect
- Suspect’s name
- Identification of the suspect (email, driving license, mobile number, PAN card, etc.)
- Suspect’s address
complainant’s details
- Gender and Date of Birth
- Name of father/mother/husband/wife
- Relationship of the complainant with the victim
- Email ID (for further communication during enquiry)
- Victim’s National Identity Card (Driving License/PAN Card/Voter ID)
- Address of the complainant.
The complainant may also add other necessary details relating to the complaint or which he feels may be helpful in the investigation of the offense in the details column. There are some other documents and information that will be uploaded as evidence. Other documents required to be attached with the complaint depend on the type of cyber crime committed against the victim.
Once the complaint is successfully registered, a complaint ID will be provided to the complainant through which he can track the status of the complaint. The same will be sent to the registered mobile number and email address of the complainant. In addition, a PDF of the complaint will also be generated on the portal.
Procedure for Reporting other cyber crimes on Cyber police portal
To file a cyber crime complaint online on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, the victim/complainant has to visit the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal:-https://cybercrime.gov.in/.
Once the complaint is successfully registered, the complainant will be provided with the PDF of his complaint which he can download from the portal and will also receive an email and a message on his registered email address and mobile number.
Cyber Police Portal Reporting Process
The process of registering a cyber crime complaint is divided into two categories- 1. Offline process (registering complaint with Cyber Crime Cell) and 2. Online process (registering complaint on National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal).
Offline Process:- The offline process i.e. to report the cyber crime to the cyber crime cell requires the victim/complainant to file a written complaint to the head of the cyber crime cell. The complainant can file a complaint with any cyber crime cell in India as cyber crime comes under global jurisdiction. The offline process is convenient for people with less internet resources.
Online Process i.e. to report cyber crime on National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal has options to register crimes under two different categories (1) Cyber Crimes related to Women and Children and (2) Other Cyber Crimes. In addition, it allows the victim/complainant of child pornography, child sexual abuse material and sexually explicit material (rape/gang rape) to report the crime anonymously.
It also allows the complainant to track the status of his complaint under the “Report and Track” option. The complainant is required to fill in the details relating to the incident that has happened, the offense suspected to have been committed and the details of the complainant (except the “Report anonymously” option). The complainant also gets a copy of the complaint lodged by him on the portal.