Kerala: Out of 80,000 cyber crime complaints, 50,000 are from women

THIRUVANATHAPURAM: As many as 80,000 cyber crime related complaints have been registered with police in Kerala in the last one year, of which 50,000 relate to harassment of women through new hi-tech devices, Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan said here today.

The number of cyber crimes are on the rise in the state with 80,000 complaints lodged in the last one year, 50,000 relating to women alone, he told reporters.

Most victims of these crimes were teenaged girls and women, he said, adding, there was a "nefarious attempt" to trap young girls to indulge in wrongdoing.

The increase in number of mobile phones has also led to an increase in the number of cyber crimes, he said, adding that Kerala now has three crore RPT three crore mobile phones.

Crimes were also reported by misusing social networking system and internet, Radhakrishnan said.

The minister said with a view to strengthen computer security using best practice, Kerala Police would hold an International Information Security Conference here on August 3 and 4.

"By fostering the collaboration of the public and private sectors, our goal is to conceive new counter measures against cyber security threats and crimes against women," he said.

On the reported presence of Maoists in Kerala forests, he said certain things cannot be disclosed due to security reasons. "Necessary steps would be taken by police to prevent activities of such groups," he said.

Justifying the ban on the August 15 ' freedom parade' of Popular Front of India, he pointed out that the ban had been in force for the past three years and the UDF government had only followed the stand taken by the previous LDF government.

He said Independence Day celebrations were official celebrations conducted by all the state governments. "Let us celebrate the freedom together," he said, adding, the PFI's parade has a "sectarian colour" to it.