Commentary: Taking The Stigma Out Of 'Hot Sex Crimes'

By Vaishna Roy (Guest Writer)

Rape has always been seen as a stigma that only the woman victim has to bear. It is vital to change this perspective.

As is inevitable, when a prominent case of rape or sexual assault dominates the mindscape of a society, a slew of collateral issues also comes to the fore. One that has raised its head this time has been the question of privacy. As with most news in today’s age, the Tarun Tejpal incident too was first broken by social media, and relentlessly pursued by it as well. 

Without in any way condoning social media for its notorious lack of proportion and good sense, and the fact that it allows an all-too-easy platform for trolls, fanatics and idiots, it must be acknowledged that it plays an incomparable role when an incident or announcement of importance needs to be disseminated quickly and effectively.

Media Watch: 'Every Move She Makes, They’ll Be Watching'

By Anand Sharma / Hyderabad

Rising hemlines lead to rising TRPs. INN examines a commercial news industry committed to sleaze, to lechery and to shaming young women. There’s something rotten in the states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. And it seems the Kannada and Telugu news channels have identified the problem — girls gone wild, fuelled by alcohol. On 14 May, Karnataka’s leading regional news channel, TV9 Kannada, ran a programme, Olage Serideru Gundu (literally, ‘once alcohol is inside’), a fine assortment of video nasties from across the country, showing the great evils of girls drinking — the ruckus on the street, clothes askew, clashes with cops.

For some years now, the disapproving cultural policing of a class of girls — ones who can afford to go out to drink — has become a staple on regional news in both states. There is massive viewership, particularly of sleazy ‘true crime’ reports, and so editors and programming heads encourage reporters to follow women and young couples, to stake out pubs, nightclubs and make-out spots. A cursory search on YouTube reveals the many news reports with such eye-catching titles as ‘Drunk women causing hulchul’, ‘Drunk women causing hungama’, or ‘How to ban rave parties to save the youth’.

In Focus: 'Reasons For 'Rape Bombs' Exploding In India'

By Likha Veer | INN Live

Mahatma Gandhi's words that India can proud of its Independence only when a woman walks freely without fear in nights makes one wonder, when India really claim to have got Independence. With every passing second, 'Rape Bombs' are exploding in Indian Republic and needless to say everyone,including the Govt,police forces,legal system became mute spectators.

Even saner lot are unable to fathom how to curb violence and atrocities against women and psychologists too are at their wits ends as to what could be the reason behind increased crimes aganst women. After the henious and dastardly incident on Nirbhaya,public anger grew so much so that many came out to streets forcing Govt to take steps and enact even 'Nirbhaya Act'.

Nirbhaya Case Verdict: All 4-Accused Sentenced To Death

By Kajol Singh / INN Bureau

All the four convicts - Akshay Thakur, Vinay Sharma, Mukesh Singh and Pawan Gupta - in the December 16, 2012 gangrape and murder of a 23-year-old physiotherapy student inside a private bus in Delhi have been sentenced to death by the Saket fast track trial court.

ACTRESS WITH SREESANTH USED FOR BOWLER, BOOKIES?

By Sahil Karkare & Kajol Singh

Cops suspect the woman who was in Kerala cricketer's car when he was nabbed had gone to his hotel room a few days earlier to deliver payment. Turns out the Marathi actress spotted with now-ousted Rajasthan Royals cricketer S Sreesanth at the time of his arrest by Delhi police may have been doing more than adding a touch of razzle-dazzle to the proceedings. According to sources, the starlet was acting as a courier — collecting money from bookies and delivering it to the medium pacer.

Sources also informed that the actress, who was seen at the cricketer’s hotel room in the western suburbs a couple of days before the police action, would collect money on his behalf during his absence in Mumbai. Sources say that she may have gone to Sreesanth’s room to tender some of the payout. City police officials reportedly recovered Rs 75,000 in cash during the raid conducted at Sreesanth’s room in Sofitel Hotel on Friday night.

DID VINDOO PUMP IN 'STAR-MONEY' TO FUEL BETTING?

By Niloufer Khan / Mumbai

Bollywood makes its dramatic entry into the cricket-underworld-bookie nexus with the arrest of Vindoo Dara Singh, as cops probe his close ties with film personalities.

Season 6 of Indian Premier League is in its climactic stages. But it’s safe to say that the on-field action has few takers now, as every day new exposes in the spot-fixing scandal make headlines. With the arrest of actor Vindoo Dara Singh, the scrutiny of investigators is likely to focus more prominently on Bollywood. Property Cell of Mumbai Crime Branch apprehended the Bigg Boss season 3 winner yesterday after he was found to be in touch with some bookies.

Public Woes - Is Ramalinga Raju a raja?

By M H Ahssan

Even Some Employees, Visitors Are Not Being Allowed Into Hyderabad CID Office. Call it a kind of collateral damage. K Srinivas is neither an investor in Satyam Computers nor an employee. But on Tuesday, the disgraced ex-chairman of the company B Ramalinga Raju was the cause of his misery.

Srinivas went to the Cyber Crime police station located in the Crime Investigation Department (CID) building at AC Guards to pursue a case he had filed but was in for a rude shock. "You are not allowed in. Come back on Thursday," a policeman bluntly told him. Not one to give up, Srinivas then called up Cyber Crime police on phone but the voice on the other side said, "No officer is available now".

The reason? The high profile accused B Ramalinga Raju, his brother Rama Raju and former chief financial officer Vadlamani Srinivas, in police custody for the past three days have been lodged at the CID building.

In fact, their interrogation is directly affecting work in the other wings of CID, especially Cyber Crime police station, Women Protection Cell (WPC) and Anti Human Trafficking Wing for the past two days as their offices are located in the same building where Raju is lodged.

"The security is unprecedented", a visitor to the vicinity said. He added: "It is an intimidating sight with a large number of police vehicles parked on either side of the road".

At least four gun-toting policeman posted at the building are ensuring that no visitor gets in. It is learnt that some staff members, especially of the cyber crime were asked to stay away from the office from January 19. This situation will continue till Wednesday. In fact, everyday about 50 visitors come to the building. Some to lodge complaints with the cyber police and WPC and some to check the status of their case or to discuss problems with the police.

While police officers entering the building have to display their identity cards, the personal assistants, gunmen and drivers of the senior officers are being asked to stay on the ground floor itself. Even sub-inspectors and inspectors are not being allowed into the two floors where the trio are being interrogated.

"For whose benefit is this security, I wonder? Do they apprehend that angry investors will barge in and rough up Raju? Or do they think that Raju is a raja?" asked an angry Satish Reddy who had to return without his job being done.

'Dead' Man Became 'Alive' After 11 years In Odisha

By Manas Mahopatra / Berhampur

A man who was declared "dead" by his father 11 years ago in Odisha was found alive, police said. The bizarre incident came to light after the crime branch of Odisha Police traced Gajendra Kumar Kar in his hometown of Berhampur in Ganjam district, about 180 km from here and arrested him.

He was arrested as his father's complaint that he was kidnapped and murdered was found false, he said.

Attention Diversion- Old tactic, new robbery

By Samiya Anwar

“Crime cases hit a new high with diverse attention by unidentified youths”

Well heard, hoax and hoaxers, crime and criminals, furthermore the “Attention Diversion” and “Attention Diverters”. Not new to our ears. It is something becoming common, regular and ordinary news in newspapers, television channels and everywhere. The society is in great turmoil with old tactics doing wonders. The crime is same, distracting attention, snatching money or gold and fleeing away.

Diverted attention mainly includes a range of activities where the drivers’ attention is directed away from the primary task of driving towards events, objects or people, inside- or outside-of-the-vehicle. It is a new threat in old style. The imposters and hoaxers are at mount to fool and deceive people in more sophisticated manner. The theft of attention diversion is rising high. It is said to be a transformed modus operandi of new offenders who adopt the method of old crooked swindlers in more polished style of robbing with changing times. In big cities like Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad the attention diversion has become a very common thing nowadays.

On Monday, the gangs from Nellore, Tamil Nadu and Beedar in Karnataka have reached Hyderabad, the officials said. The members of the gang divert the attention of a probable victim by narrating a crime incident in nearby area and ask people to deposit their valuables with them. Once that is done, they replace the handbags with stones and hand it back to the victims. There are also women in those gangs. It is reported that women stop others wearing jewelry under the pretext of alerting them about a murder in the vicinity and warning them against wearing so much jewelry. When the women remove the jewelry the tricksters pretend to help them with packing it up, only to replace it with stones.

Recently, in Cyberabad, Rs 2 lakh was stolen from a person, when a man punctured the tyre of victim’s two-wheeler. He had put the money in the boot of the two-wheeler. When he went to a shop, another gang member opened the boot and took the money. “It is a gamble for them. Sometimes they hit the jackpot. It is more a matter of chance for them,” said Mr G. Surya Prakasa Rao, the DCP (crime), Cyberabad.

The most vulnerable areas where such gangs are in operation are Jeedimetla, Saroornagar, Kukatpally and Miyapur in Cyberabad jurisdiction and SR Nagar in Hyderabad jurisdiction. Basheerbagh and the area near to Public Gardens are other spots where such gangs are active. So it is ordered to the common people to be cautioned with cash and gold.

And in Bangalore, there is a high alert on attention diverters by city police. Commissioner had earlier this month stated that anybody withdrawing huge amounts from the banks can seek help from the police by taking an armed police personnel along. But the citizens ignore to do so, and a number of them are falling prey to such tricksters. Shankar Bidari said that a book with the details of such tricksters with their details and modus operandi will be published soon and distributed among the police stations and crowded places, which would help in tracing the offenders faster.

The case of Dr. Meghna was a prank, when she was fooled by two youth on way to her clinic, that there is a leakage of petrol and on checking the petrol she noticed her handbag missing which contains her medical apparatus, cash Rs 2,000, credit cards and debit cards.

In Chennai, the theft was on similar grounds last year. A 73-year-old man, Tulasi Raman, a marriage broker, was on his morning walk when the incident occurred. He was relieved of his two-sovereign gold chain by a man on motorbike at Madipakkam. There are many chain snatchers use such techniques and make off with valuable property. It is important to be careful with strangers and to be aware at all points in time, police says. It was just another diversion case of chain snatching which is prevalent with many women traveling in buses, and walking in remote places unaccompanied.

On the same standard, thugs spit chewed biscuit, sprinkle ink in somebody’s shirt and in a split second snatch the bag and valuables right in front of our eyes. Dropping notes on floor is a common technique of deceit. Breaking the window in driver’s absence or leakage of petrol of the victim are general tactics.

But it is shameful that hoaxers are cheating in the name of God. They visit homes and ask women to perform a pooja in the house, to increase wealth and reduce fights at home. Later, put that in a bowl and escape leaving an empty one behind alerting the residents not to open the bowl for a couple of days. Moreover these people also visit homes in the pretext of polishing the jewelry and making away with the valuables, by dipping it in an acid-like solution. So, the “women in doors” are also victims of attention diversion.

The victims are mostly educated, good professionals and from a sound background. They themselves give a chance to offenders in times of hurry or ignorance. If somebody is withdrawing cash from bank or buying jewelry, they have to straight away go home. If they wander with valuables they invite the diverters who are awaiting a chance on a blink of an eye.

Though many attention diverters and their gangs arrested so far has sent in judicial remand, the modus operandi continues. It is said that these are the same people who changes the bait and cheat people in different areas. They speak fluent English which makes the victim fall for their words. It is becoming hazardous for the masses.

Particularly in these difficult economic times, no good salaries, job deficiencies in the market, rising gold rates, getting fooled by any gang of attention diversion is something mindless or careless act upon our hard earned money. We need to be vigilant and wary of our belongings, and cash otherwise such thefts will be on rise.

Crime Live: Debit Card Fraudsters On Prowl In Hyderabad

Debit card fraudersters are prowling in Hyderabad. Many incidentscame to light and many youngesters arrested by the police is the clear indication of this crime is growing fastly. 

New-age crooks are duping people through celebrity game show. Through debit card and `Chehara Pehchano' celebrity fraud, new-age crooks have duped more than 200 persons to the tune of several lakhs of rupees in the first four months of this year.

WHY A POLICEMAN DOESN'T FILE AN FIR?

By Danish Raza (Guest Writer)

The Indian police often face the worst Indian justice system. The man in khaki has given up. Almost! Speaking on the wireless, he tells his bosses sitting in Delhi Police Headquarters to send another battalion of uniformed men. While his seniors contemplate the demand, he once again tries to negotiate with a group of 200 Jawarlal Nehru university students who are demanding the removal of his top boss, Delhi police commissioner Neeraj Kumar.

Phishing, A New Crime in Plastic Card Frauds

In the first week of January, J.M. Gugnani, a 66-year-old independent consultant, got a series of messages on his phone, informing him that transactions were taking place on his credit card in Islamabad. When he added up the many small transactions that were swiped, Gugnani was stunned to discover that he had “spent” 2.5 lakh in Pakistani rupees (about Rs 1.36 lakh). There were two problems, tho­ugh: the credit card was firmly tuc­ked in his wallet; and Gugnani had never ever been to Pakistan. He’s based in Gurgaon, near Delhi. “Initially, I didn’t realise it was Pakistani rupees. I was shocked more because it was not an online transaction; a card had been physically swiped there,” he says. After a few rounds of investigations and verification of his passport, his bank—ICICI Bank—blocked the card. Last week, Gugnani received a formal communication from the bank saying that the “dispute” had been resolved in his favour.

Not everyone is as lucky. It doesn’t always end well. Since January 2013, Mumbai resident Shailesh Ghai has been running from pillar to post trying to reverse three online fund trans­fers that took place on his bank account without his knowledge. His account, now Rs 15,000 short, was hac­ked and the funds transferred to ano­ther account in three separate transactions over a week. His big mistake: responding to an e-mail that tricked Ghai into revealing his password (something called phishing). Although Ghai was quick to inform the bank, he’s yet to receive a reply on the status of his funds. Ghai hasn’t had much luck with the cyber crime cell either although a formal complaint has been filed with them. And he’s still deciding whether he should knock on the doors of the consumer courts or write off the whole experience. Simply put, Ghai is no longer sure he’s comfortable using internet banking anymore.

These are not isolated cases; they mark a growing epidemic of e-fraud in the country. Increasingly, banks are being bombarded with complaints reg­arding fraudulent internet banking transactions, ATM cards being misused, and debit and credit card data being hacked or swiped for domestic and international transactions. As more and more Indians try to muddle their way through the maze of cyber and electronic banking transactions, e-thieves are always one step ahead of them. According to national cyber crime estimates, credit card frauds, phishing, hacking into accounts and so on are on the rise and increasing at an alarming rate of 30 per cent in India.

“In the past seven to eight months, we are noticing a rise in phishing complaints in net banking or e-commerce in India. Another common complaint is identity theft, done by copying the data from the card’s magnetic strip, usually at shopping outlets,” says Uttam Nayak, group country manager, South Asia, Visa. Last year, the two largest payment processing firms—Visa and Master­card—suffered a massive online data breach of 1.5 million card details in North America. “Although frauds in India are on the rise, it is still one of the lowest impacted countries globally because of stringent Reserve Bank of India guidelines,” adds Nayak.

Well, in the last six months alone, there have been numerous instances of huge amounts being skimmed (where the magnetic strip of the card has been copied). Most recently, unauthorised transactions of an estimated Rs 30 crore have affected all the top card-issuing banks, including ICICI, HDFC, SBI, Citi­bank and Axis Bank. Senior banking sources told Outlook that it was suspec­ted that many of these online international tra­nsactions might have taken place thro­ugh cloning or skimming of data at key department stores and fast food joints.

Sure, India is still a nascent market as far as internet penetration goes—but the growth rates are astounding. Mobile banking, for instance, has grown by over 60 per cent in April-December 2012. Cash still dominates banking but the growth of electronic transactions is over 40 per cent. And yes, banking is not isolated to singular devices or technologies any longer. There is a greater push by bankers, regulators and even the government to move towards electronic payments. “It is alarming to see the number of cases that are coming to light and clearly a cause for concern. As the number of transactions increases, the sense of security in these transacti­ons needs to go up rather than diminish,” concedes A.P. Hota, MD and CEO, National Payments Corporation of India.

If the numbers look small right now, that’s also partly because there’s massive under-rep­orting of cases. Apart from the monetary loss, victims often have to face a lot of harassment at the hands of the police—and more often than not from the bank’s dispute redressal cells—in the process of filing a complaint. Gugnani, for instance, had to go through several rounds of investigations and verificati­ons—on phone as well as in person and examination of his passport and whether he had a Pakistan visa or not. Says Apar Gupta, cyber law expert, “In many cases, the cost of litigation is higher than the cost of the transaction. So it acts as a deterrent and many don’t go for litigation at all.”

Central government employee Sum­edha Nagpure, 35, is one such harassed soul. For the last three years, she has been fighting a futile battle in trying to recover the Rs 69,000 in arrears she ear­ned out of her Sixth Pay Commission in 2010. In February 2010, an SMS alert told her that the money had been withdrawn from her Bank of India account through an ATM and transferred to another account. Police complaints have been filed, the bank has come in but failed to investigate the issue and even her own lawyer has little hope of winning the battle in the consumer court. Three years later, the Rs 69,000 dent in her hard-earned savings still pinches.

All this growing consumer angst has forced the government to answer many questions in Parliament. Recently the banking regulator has introduced new guidelines to ensure that limits are set on domestic and international card spending (see graphic on the impact). “The regulator is wary and concerned, but honestly one needs to step back and examine whether greater systemic regulation is the solution here,” maintains a former senior RBI official. Most experts in the field, whether on the banking or investigation side, agree that this is one area of crime that will evolve at an extremely rapid rate.

“There is no call for physical presence while committing the crime. And that makes it the perfect low-risk, high-profit crime these days,” says Niket Kau­shik, additional comm­issioner of police (crime), Mumbai. All over the country, cyber crime cells are cropping up and special training to officers in cyber forensics is being provided, he adds. It is a jurisdictional nightmare though. T. Krishna Prasad, additional DG, CID Cyber Crime, Hyderabad, says 40 investigating officers in Hyderabad are working in the cyber crime section. “But we are working on training off­icers in districts too and increasing the statewide strength to 200,” he adds. Calcutta too set up a cyber cell in 2011, yet has been grappling with an increasing number of cyber crimes.

“Most of the recent cases that have emerged involved international transactions emanating from countries like the US, UK, France. Once we track down the initial trails, we get stuck in following up the leads due to international laws and jurisdictions,” Kaushik adds. There has been a good success rate in apprehending culprits within domestic laws; but not so when there are cross-border transactions. Custo­mers then have to depend on resolving the issue via the banks or consumer courts.

So who bears the brunt of the blame? The easy answer would be to assign equal blame to all the players—regulators for not implementing regulation; bankers for not having enough safeguards; consumers for not being resp­onsible enough. Indeed, many banking and payment experts Outlook spoke to believe that the RBI guidelines are fair and stringent. Cyber law experts, on the other hand, say it’s not the law or regulation that is lacking—it is the implementation of the law that is the problem. The punishments and penalties involved need to be far more stringent in the case of errant banks who don’t adhere to norms as well as criminals who are apprehended by the law. “In a nascent market, you cannot afford to cut corners and put the burden on the consumer. Technology has to be accessible and convenient to the customer and it is up to the banks and regulator to ensure that happens,” says the former senior RBI official.

Of course, as with any case involving money, there is often another side. “It’s not fair to say that there is no redressal system in place. Many times consumers also misuse cards themselves and the system does have a mechanism to protect consumer interests,” says Bejon Misra, Consumer Voice. A key problem is that the customer is liable till the stage of reporting. Clearly, it’s no longer enough for customers to sit on the sidelines. Misra believes in increasing e-literacy. He feels there can be greater prevention if consumers get more proactive in understanding what is involved and how they can protect themselves. It makes sense for consumers to be scared—that’s the only way they will survive the onslaught from the e-thieves.

How You Can Get Conned

Phishing or Spoofing: You get e-mails that look similar to ones from banks, office, e-commerce websites or institutions you regularly interact with. Some ask for verification of credit card or bank account data, or a date of birth. You reply, thieves use the precious data.

Vishing & Smishing: Phishing via voice or SMS. You get a call from someone pretending to be your bank exec with an offer or for verification (usually DoB). The calls are designed exactly like a bank’s automated voice system.

Skimming: Obtaining a person’s card details by photocopying transaction receipts or swiping a card using a “card copier” that stores user data. Often this kind of theft works in collusion with people handling cash at shops, hotels and restaurants.

Carding: To check validity of a stolen card before it is blocked. Initially used by thieves for a small initial purchase; if that goes through, used for big amounts. A Delhi exec’s card was used to buy a Facebook app for $1 and later for goods worth $850 and $4000 in the UK.

Cloning: Creating duplicate cards by using easily available, inexpensive technology and machines. These cards are then used for transactions or online.

Application fraud: Opening bank accounts in someone else’s name by using either fake or stolen documents like utility bills

Account takeover: Taking over a person’s bank account by using fake or stolen documents and signatures and appearing as the account or card holder. Often these documents are also used to change addresses of a bank account and transfer funds. False reports of lost or stolen cards too are filed and requests made for replacement cards/passwords.

BIN attack: Thieves get one good, valid card, then generate card numbers by changing the last four numbers using generator software/machines. This is possible because credit cards are produced in Bank Identification Number (BIN) ranges. In most cases expiry dates of the cards are also in a series.

Mail redirect: Thieves intercept or hack into e-mails and redirect them to their own account. They then redirect password reset e-mails to their own acc­ounts and break in to operate a person’s account.

Quantum breach: Normally users and banks set alerts for transactions over a set limit, mostly Rs 5,000. Thieves use bank account passwords or credit/debit cards for amounts below that and for several purchases so that detection is not immediate via alerts and seen only in monthly statements.

Remedies: What new RBI norms (valid from June 30, 2013) will do

Restrict card to domestic usage unless you have made specific arrangements
Impact May help curtail misuse of cards or information internationally; will be cumbersome for frequent fliers; banks unhappy about additional process

Conversion of existing cards to EMV chip cards for customers who have used their cards internationally

Impact Expected to provide greater security
Threshold limits for international usage based on risk profile and usage of customer. Common threshold limit for cards that have never been used internationally before
Impact The customer will have to be more proactive in determining limits and keeping track of them

Banks to ensure that terminals at merchants should be certified for PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry-Data Security Standards) and PA-DSS (Payment Applications-Data Security Standards). Impact Another layer of security, will take time to roll out effectively

Bank should track transaction patterns of usage of cards with card payment network to clamp down on fraud. Impact More active notification of transactions; raise red flags when behaviour deviates from pattern

Banks should move towards real-time fraud monitoring system at the earliest. Impact Reduce the impact of fraud on the customer if fraudulent transaction pointed out immediately

Banks should provide easier methods (like SMS) for the customer to block his card. Impact Should reduce the burden on the consumer to block cards in cases of misuse.

Dos & Don’ts

• Select complex passwords that have nothing to do with your personal information; change them frequently; use different passwords for different accounts
• Do not write your passwords anywhere or share them with anyone; don’t save them on computers that many can access
• Never access your bank account on a device that is not personal; password-protect your devices
• Run regular virus/malware checks
• Do not respond to any e-mails/calls asking for any account or personal information, particularly ones seeking your data
• Immediately inform your bank if you notice a fraudulent transaction; block card at the earliest. Complain in writing, so that it can followed up legally.
• Ensure that websites asking for sensitive data online have SSL encryption in place (URL starts with https://); copy and paste the URL manually instead of clicking on a link in an email
• Don’t use auto fill forms; log out of every e-commerce site before closing the browser window.

In the meantime, banks are looking at meeting the new norms, propagating safety, updating merchant terminals, alerting against phishing and so on. “There is no other way to say it but precautions are better preventives,” points out Kaushik. It’s not a comforting thought. Not knowing whether your data on the internet, credit, ATM, debit card is safe is a question you want a definite answer to. Unfortunately, there are no easy answers.

In other markets, like the UK and US, there is far more awareness and action as far as cyber crimes and these kinds of frauds are concerned. All the parties involved—legal, banking, governmental or regulatory agencies—take a far more active role in solving these crimes. That needs to start happening here as well. As long as the base is small, processes can be built in to ens­ure a higher degree of safety and security. Without this, the idea of anytime, anywhere banking—as well as the dir­ect cash transfer project—will remain an elusive dream.

The Logical Problems With The Juvenile Justice Act In India

The brutal Delhi gangrape case has bought forth a new aspect of criminality that India’s justice system needs to address urgently. One of the accused, as per police record and, according to reports, the most aggressive of the lot who brutalised the young girl, is a minor of 17 years. Reports have shown that it was the minor who first lured the unsuspecting victims into the bus and that he was the most aggressive in the repeated rape of the victim.

In India the sentencing and trial of juvenile offenders is mandated and governed by the Juvenile Justice Act 2000. Section 1(4) mandates that all cases involving detention, prosecution, penalty and sentence of imprisonment involving juveniles shall be governed by the Juvenile Justice Act. Section 2(l) defines a juvenile as any child who has not yet completed eighteen years of age. Section 15(1)(g) of the JJ Act further mandates that a juvenile convicted of any offence can be sentenced to be sent to a special home for a period of three years, maximum and thereafter be released on probation.

What this boils down to is the fact that in case the accused happens to be a juvenile the maximum time that he shall serve is three years or 1095 days in a special rehabilitation home.

Before venturing into the merits and demerits of the Indian Juvenile Justice system it would be prudent to see how the Western world deals with juveniles accused of horrendous crimes.

A somewhat similar, yet if possible more horrific situation, arose in England in the now infamous James Bulger 

Case in 1993. The two accused and convicted of torturing and murdering a two year old child were both 10 years old at the time of the offence. They were tried as adults and convicted for life with a minimum sentence of eight years.

In England, the age of criminal responsibility, is set at 10 years. This means that any individual above the age of 10 is considered fully aware of the difference between right and wrong. In case of a juvenile offender, he/she can either be tried as a juvenile or as an adult, depending again on the heinousness of the crime. In case the offender is tried as an adult the Crown Court (the UK version of a criminal court) has in its discretion to award the maximum amount of punishment as would be awarded to an adult.

Similarly in the United States the case of Kent v The United Case in 1966, saw a juvenile, who was convicted of house breaking robbery and rape, tried as a major. He was sentenced to thirty to ninety years behind bars.

In fact, the Unites States has drawn a clear distinction between juveniles as victims of an unresponsive society and those who are fully aware of the heinousness of their crimes. The legislation of the country allows in certain cases, keeping in mind the heinousness of the crime committed, to try juvenile offenders as adults. The justification offered behind this waiver is to recognise the inherent and all important principle of Mens Rea or guilty conscience.

This waiver of jurisdiction by the Juvenile Board is brought about by a clear understanding that in certain cases the board may not be adequately equipped to handle the offender, particularly one who committed the crime knowing fully well the consequences of his/her actions.

Another justification offered is the prime responsibility of the State to protect society from such offenders. By waiving its jurisdiction the juvenile court recognises that the offender is beyond the scope of juvenile rehabilitation and legitimises the waiver of jurisdiction as a means of protecting society at large from the offender.

Australia too follows a system similar to the United Kingdom. The age for criminal responsibility in Australia is also 10 years, which means a child is not supposed to know the difference between right and wrong if he/she is below 10 years. From 10 years to 14 years an accused comes under what is called ‘rebuttable presumption’, this means that by default the child is supposed to be unaware of the consequences and inherent illegality of the act committed, however the prosecution is free to rebut this understanding. Any individual over 14 years of age is held accountable of any crime committed by him and whether the individual is to be tried as a minor or an adult depends again on the heinousness of the crime.

Coming back to India and the Juvenile Justice Act 2000, it is easy to notice that rather than have a flexible procedure for sentencing we have opted for a rigid and sweeping one. This is a system in which the maximum amount of sentence served by a delinquent who say partakes in armed robbery in order to feed himself is the same as the one given out to a serial rapist or murderer; just so long both are under eighteen years of age.

The biggest reason for our current system is the supposed rehabilitation of the offenders. A glimpse of this may be found in the rechristening of the word offender to ‘Juvenile in conflict with the law’. While the swanky name change is an earnest and somewhat romantic gesture at our societies’ endeavour in recognising and unleashing the ‘good’ within each child, there is an inherent problem with the term of the sentence. There is no logical or scientific reason which shows that total and complete rehabilitation can be achieved by a delinquent/ offender/ child in conflict with the law within a maximum period of three years.

In the case of the Delhi rapist, even if one were to say that the boy needs to be rehabilitated and that perhaps the reason for his barbaric and animalistic act was a deep-rooted psychological problem, there is no assurance that the issue can be dealt with in three years.

Of course, the absolute lack of implementation of the provisions of the JJ Act after a juvenile completes his sentence is another concern. India’s massive population makes it impossible to track and ensure that a juvenile once released continues with his therapy or even reports regularly to his parole officer.

With this basic and undeniable truth it is a matter of simple calculation that in all probability the Delhi rapist shall be on the streets within the next three years that’s 1095 days with nothing more than a stint in a special home in the name of absolute and complete Rehabilitation.

Death penalty to juvenile age: the Verma Committee approach
Gopal Subramaniam, senior advocate at the Supreme Court, who was a part of the Verma Committe, spoke to this reporter to explain how they approached writing the report.

Subramaniam explained that there were three ways in which the report aimed to address violence against women.

One, the committee felt a strong need to constitutionally affirm equality in daily life;

Two, they were keen to acknowledge the kind of stereotyping that has taken place due to the lack of main streaming across India, especially in attitudes;

Third and most important – punishment: they wanted to push through a more stringent than available sentence (14 years), and added some new offences that are precursors to rape, that do take place.

Interestingly, in the matter of death penalty that has occupied much of media and political discourse in the past month, Subramaniam explained that they avoided it because of the arbitrariness of using it and the fact that rarest of the rare took care of the need to use it.

Commenting of the issue of lowering the age of juveniles from 18 to 16, he said that the condition of the have-nots hit the committee in the solar plexus. “Have we done enough for the haven-nots who are juveniles and that question hit us, the condition of juvenile homes, are like ghettos. Then suddenly to say lower the age to 18 to 16 is not morally not justified.”

The logical problems with Juvenile Justice in India

The brutal Delhi gangrape case has bought forth a new aspect of criminality that India’s justice system needs to address urgently. 

One of the accused, as per police record and, according to reports, the most aggressive of the lot who brutalised the young girl, is a minor of 17 years. Reports have shown that it was the minor who first lured the unsuspecting victims into the bus and that he was the most aggressive in the repeated rape of the victim.

In India the sentencing and trial of juvenile offenders is mandated and governed by the Juvenile Justice Act 2000. Section 1(4) mandates that all cases involving detention, prosecution, penalty and sentence of imprisonment involving juveniles shall be governed by the Juvenile Justice Act. Section 2(l) defines a juvenile as any child who has not yet completed eighteen years of age. 

Section 15(1)(g) of the JJ Act further mandates that a juvenile convicted of any offence can be sentenced to be sent to a special home for a period of three years, maximum and thereafter be released on probation.

What this boils down to is the fact that in case the accused happens to be a juvenile the maximum time that he shall serve is three years or 1095 days in a special rehabilitation home.

Before venturing into the merits and demerits of the Indian Juvenile Justice system it would be prudent to see how the Western world deals with juveniles accused of horrendous crimes.

A somewhat similar, yet if possible more horrific situation, arose in England in the now infamous James Bulger Case in 1993. The two accused and convicted of torturing and murdering a two year old child were both 10 years old at the time of the offence. They were tried as adults and convicted for life with a minimum sentence of eight years.

In England, the age of criminal responsibility, is set at 10 years. This means that any individual above the age of 10 is considered fully aware of the difference between right and wrong. In case of a juvenile offender, he/she can either be tried as a juvenile or as an adult, depending again on the heinousness of the crime. In case the offender is tried as an adult the Crown Court (the UK version of a criminal court) has in its discretion to award the maximum amount of punishment as would be awarded to an adult.

Similarly in the United States the case of Kent v The United Case in 1966, saw a juvenile, who was convicted of house breaking robbery and rape, tried as a major. He was sentenced to thirty to ninety years behind bars.

In fact, the Unites States has drawn a clear distinction between juveniles as victims of an unresponsive society and those who are fully aware of the heinousness of their crimes. The legislation of the country allows in certain cases, keeping in mind the heinousness of the crime committed, to try juvenile offenders as adults. The justification offered behind this waiver is to recognise the inherent and all important principle of Mens Rea or guilty conscience.

This waiver of jurisdiction by the Juvenile Board is brought about by a clear understanding that in certain cases the board may not be adequately equipped to handle the offender, particularly one who committed the crime knowing fully well the consequences of his/her actions.

Another justification offered is the prime responsibility of the State to protect society from such offenders. By waiving its jurisdiction the juvenile court recognises that the offender is beyond the scope of juvenile rehabilitation and legitimises the waiver of jurisdiction as a means of protecting society at large from the offender.

Australia too follows a system similar to the United Kingdom. The age for criminal responsibility in Australia is also 10 years, which means a child is not supposed to know the difference between right and wrong if he/she is below 10 years. From 10 years to 14 years an accused comes under what is called ‘rebuttable presumption’, this means that by default the child is supposed to be unaware of the consequences and inherent illegality of the act committed, however the prosecution is free to rebut this understanding. Any individual over 14 years of age is held accountable of any crime committed by him and whether the individual is to be tried as a minor or an adult depends again on the heinousness of the crime.

Coming back to India and the Juvenile Justice Act 2000, it is easy to notice that rather than have a flexible procedure for sentencing we have opted for a rigid and sweeping one. This is a system in which the maximum amount of sentence served by a delinquent who say partakes in armed robbery in order to feed himself is the same as the one given out to a serial rapist or murderer; just so long both are under eighteen years of age.

The biggest reason for our current system is the supposed rehabilitation of the offenders. A glimpse of this may be found in the rechristening of the word offender to ‘Juvenile in conflict with the law’. While the swanky name change is an earnest and somewhat romantic gesture at our societies’ endeavour in recognising and unleashing the ‘good’ within each child, there is an inherent problem with the term of the sentence. There is no logical or scientific reason which shows that total and complete rehabilitation can be achieved by a delinquent/ offender/ child in conflict with the law within a maximum period of three years.

In the case of the Delhi rapist, even if one were to say that the boy needs to be rehabilitated and that perhaps the reason for his barbaric and animalistic act was a deep-rooted psychological problem, there is no assurance that the issue can be dealt with in three years.

Of course, the absolute lack of implementation of the provisions of the JJ Act after a juvenile completes his sentence is another concern. India’s massive population makes it impossible to track and ensure that a juvenile once released continues with his therapy or even reports regularly to his parole officer.

With this basic and undeniable truth it is a matter of simple calculation that in all probability the Delhi rapist shall be on the streets within the next three years that’s 1095 days with nothing more than a stint in a special home in the name of absolute and complete Rehabilitation.

Prespective: The Law’s Blindness To Teenage Sexual Consent Is Criminalising Young Boys

By Dr.SHELLY AHMED | INNLIVE

Those working in juvenile justice say they negotiate tricky issues related to consent, caste and parental pressure while dealing with juvenile rape cases.

Six months short of his 18th birthday, Aditya* met a 16-year-old girl from a neighbouring school. The two got into a relationship, but this did not sit well with the girl’s parents, according to Aditya’s mother.

Exclusive: Delhi Became 'Rape & Crime' Capital Of India

By Kritika Sharma / New Delhi

India achieved a 'world record' in crime by registering 4-rapes in an hour, according to police statistics. India is glowing, shining in all fields, named one of the progressive country in developing world. Fastest growing economic, information technology countries. But despite stringent laws and policing, failed in curbing the rapes in the country. 

December16 changed Delhi, but unfortunately for the worse. With more than four rapes every 24 hours in the months after the brutalisation of a 23- year- old woman in a moving bus on December 16 last year, the city’s ‘ rape capital’ tag is more apt than ever. There have been 806 cases of rape reported in the first six months of this year. All of 2012 saw 706 cases. That comparison alone yields the terrifying conclusion that Delhi’s rape epidemic has more than doubled in intensity.

DNA Databases Held By Govts Alarming Privacy Advocates

By Jonatthan Andy / INN Bureau

You can ditch your computer and leave your cellphone at home, but you can’t escape your DNA. It belongs uniquely to you — and, increasingly, to the authorities. Countries around the world are collecting genetic material from millions of citizens in the name of fighting crime and terrorism — and, according to critics, heading into uncharted ethical terrain.

Leaders include the United States — where the Supreme Court recently backed the collection of DNA swabs from suspects on arrest — and Britain, where police held samples of almost 7 million people, more than 10 percent of the population, until a court-ordered about-face saw the incineration of a chunk of the database.

Did 'Spygate' Documents Reach China And Pakistan? Arrested Consultant 'May Sold Top Secrets To Clients'

The Spygate dragnet may have crossed borders and reached Pakistan and China. 

Taking forward the investigation into the case, the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police is now probing whether Prayas Jain, one of the arrested consultants, shared any confidential documents with neighbouring countries. 

Investigators have scanned Jain’s website and learned that some foreign nationals were among his clients.

The leaking of crucial documents from official files of the oil ministry has been one of the worst-kept secrets of the Union government. 

Analysis: Will We Ever Know How 'Sunanda Pushkar' Died?

A year after Sunanda Pushkar's death, in a shocking twist to the  case, the Delhi Police on Tuesday confirmed that she was murdered and registered an FIR under Section 302 of the IPC (murder).

Was she poisoned? Why was there no CCTV? Was the evidence tampered with? Was there some political motivation? There are too many questions that have been raised in the high-profile death case.

'Home Surveillance', The Safety And Security Mantra

Prevention through surveillance is the only way to control crime, right from the city level down to individual housing complexes. 

Fear, suspicion, and insecurity define the way we move around in our cities today. The question is how we can resurrect our cities and neighbourhoods into the 'safe havens' we were once used to - our neighbourhoods were certainly vastly safer during our childhood. 
    
Prevention would appear to be our best bet in this endeavour and, to achieve this end, surveillance is the best tool in pre-empting the rise in urban crime. 
    
Nations in the Asia Pacific are increasingly relying upon video surveillance in providing a safe city environment, the Singapore model being a signal example. Australia is another example where surveillance systems are protecting strategic public places. Security systems are typically deployed with a goal of deterrence, with 24x7 monitoring to prevent crime, as well as using surveillance technology to assist safety officers in responding to emergencies rapidly. The demand for gated communities is gaining popularity in India owing to security reasons. As all the houses are enclosed within a safe perimeter wall or fence, entry into the community can easily be monitored and controlled affording a great degree of security to the residents. 
    
With their elaborate guardhouses and entrance architecture, gated communities all over the world are way more expensive than regular neighborhoods. But, people are willing to pay more for a secured environment where they are safe and protected. It is a fact that crime rates decrease significantly in neighborhoods with active video surveillance, which contributes to the increased value and safety of the properties. 
    
The developers of gated communities and private townships take upon themselves the task of providing security. Nikhil Jain, the CEO of Ramprastha Group, says: "Safety and security has become a major concern for developers as well as people living in residential colonies. The entire Ramprastha City will be monitored round the clock through CCTV cameras. All the security guards, domestic helps and drivers working in the society must go through police verification before their appointment." 
    
The group also plans to organize periodic training and counselling sessions to the security guards deployed on their projects. Globally, gated communities are lapped up by urban elite who are high on money, and high on vulnerability, too - the double-income working professionals, families with kids, the empty nesters, and the retirement-home communities. 
    
Amit Vaidya, who has developed a retirement community called Golden Estate in Faridabad, has laid special emphasis upon security elements. "In our retirement community, all external and internal public spaces are covered by a grid of 57 infrared cameras, strategically placed in every nuke and corner to monitor the movement and location of senior citizens, which ensures instant detection of security breaches or accidents. A specially-designed emergency response alarm system has been installed within the residential space which has three separate response teams: medical, electrical, and security units," Vaidya says. In addition, the boundary walls of the facility have security wiring along with cameras and strobe lights to detect and prevent any unauthorized intrusion. 
    
There are many debates on gated communities. Idealistic planners vote for building 'communities' rather than 'gates', emphasizing the idea of building bridges rather than walls. The very foundation of citizenship is rooted in sharing. "While designing a township, the lines of security, like gates that separate people from one another, are mostly hidden," Chris Connell, an architect with Foster Associates, says. "As a principle, this is underplayed," he avers. 
    
But what makes the exercise meaningful is when, rather than creating forts and fortresses for only the urban elite, there is a holistic view to the problem of safety and security of the people and the entire city is protected. 
    
This is when surveillance systems are executed at the level of city and then connected to individual private complexes. 
    
"This is entirely possible," says Manish Shah, the VP (South East Asia) of Verint Systems, who has helped the Surat police in designing and deploying a command and control centre at their police headquarters. Shah says: "Today's video surveillance systems are based on IP standards, which makes it possible to have a central command and control system to connect with private neighborhoods using a standard interface. Most private neighborhood surveillance systems are privately operated and have their own control centres that can be linked to a city control centre. 
    
The Mumbai and Pune surveillance projects plan to have the central C&C centre interface with private and public institutions. Chicago in the United States has an OEMC (Office of Emergency Management & Communications) Private Sector Camera initiative to link non-public sector cameras into their system." 
    
Recently, Surat became the first city to have a 24x7 video surveillance in place. Rakesh Asthana, the police commissioner of Surat, says, "This is an investment aimed to help ensure the safety of our people and bring greater awareness of security amongst our citizens." 
    
Broadly, how does the Verint model of Safe City work? Specifically, what are the things that the traffic department and the state police want to capture through the use of technology? 
    
As a law- enforcement authority, police uses the command centre to detect and investigate traffic violations, monitor suspicious vehicles, and incidents of crime that are recorded on the CCTV cameras installed at strategic spots in the city. 
    
Manish Shah says that, typically, a command and control centre is located in the police headquarters. The command centre receives live feed from over 100 cameras deployed at strategic high-traffic intersections and high-risk locations in the city; these video feeds are consolidated on a 280 sq ft video wall. In case of any potential threat or violations, the officer on duty immediately gets an alert and he can take proactive action. 
    
The physical security command center is capable of immediately notifying any constable in the city on a variety of law and order situations; appropriate steps related to traffic diversions, sending police vehicles or ambulances to trouble spots can also be taken using the alerts of this system. 
    
However, the people handling this equipment must be thoroughly trained in the use of this technology and they must be competent. Experts caution that in video surveillance solutions, there is a need to educate the broader public about the benefits of this technology beforehand, as otherwise people may be apprehensive that the government is deploying the technology to curb their freedoms.