89 percent of cybercrime complaints to Vizag Police come from women

In a press meet held on Disha App on Tuesday, Vizag City Police Commissioner Manish Kumar Sinha IPS revealed that more than 80 percent of the cybercrime/social media complaints received by the city police are from women. 

Ever since AP Police made it mandatory for free registration of FIRs in the state, citizens have been noted to be more forthcoming with their complaints. “We have seen 52 percent of Spandana complainants to be from women and 89 percent of complaints coming to Cyber Mitra wing of Vizag Police are from women,” said the Police Commissioner. 

Once a complaint is received, the police teams are filing a chargesheet within 40-60 days. For crime investigation cases, a crime scene investigation vehicle is also being provided. According to the Visakhapatnam Police statistics, 597 cases related to women abuse/ harassment are active at 23 police stations in the city. Talking about the complaints received at the Disha police station, the Police Commissioner said that ever since the Disha police station has started in Vizag, a total of 3,886 calls through Disha SOS have been received from women, of which 353 are actionable cases, 40 are FIR cases and 17 are for Disha one-stop centre counselling. 

In order to ensure the best enforcement of the law, vulnerability mapping, geo-tagging of sexual offenders, opening of suspect sheets on Disha crimes and patrolling by Disha teams are taken up. There is also regular coordination with the prosecutors during the investigation. In criminal trials, crimes against women are being given priority and special prosecutors have been appointed to deal with cases of crimes against women. 

To bolster women’s safety in the city, around 16 vulnerable areas have been identified and Disha teams are conducting regular patrols at these areas after 6 pm. The Police Commissioner has advised the women in the city to use the toll-free numbers 100, 112, Vizag Police facebook page or the Disha mobile app during any kind of emergency. Upon receiving a distress call, the Disha police teams will spring into action.