Phone-stalking has become a persistent problem in Bangalore and the Cyber Crime Police is ready to lend a helping hand to those being stalked.
“I want to make fraandship with you.” Heard this phrase before? Sure you have and heard worse. Many people have been at the receiving end of vulgar and random messages and calls from unknown numbers. Phone-stalking has become a very common problem these days.
Take Anthony for instance. This student has been putting up with this problem for more than a year. From random texts to suggestions to meet or even phone calls, he’s had them all. Unfortunately for him, changing his phone number was not an option. “But I did have to get another number,” he says.
Rebecca Raja is another victim. She had to face being phone-stalked by three different people. They would call her and send her vulgar messages. Rebecca did what most people do. “I changed my number,” she says.
Both Anthony and Rebecca chose not go to the police. Anthony believed it would do more harm than good, whereas Rebecca felt ignoring the calls worked fine for her.
Sometimes, the mere threat of a police complaint is effective. Tara Singh was stalked by a caller who later identified himself as working for her cable service provider. She complained to the company and the man was fired. However, the calls didn’t stop.
“After I complained, the man got fired from his job. He continued calling so I threatened to complain to the cops. Since then, he hasn’t called,” she says.
Sienna Leap (name changed), however, has a different story to tell. She started receiving calls and messages from an unknown number at odd hours of the night. She tried to ignore those and then, when the problem became persistent, she spoke to the stalker and said that she would lodge a police complaint. It did not deter him. Leap went to the police and the caller was caught in two days.
To deal with cases of phone-stalking and harassment, Bangalore has the Cyber Crime Police Station, which became operational in 2001 with jurisdiction all over Karnataka. The first thing you need to do is register a complaint at your local police station. They will forward a request to the Cyber Crime Police, which will trace the number and start an investigation. The culprit is punished according to the severity of the case. This may range from a fine to a sentence of up to three years.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}