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Online threats of causing physical injury or harassment can be intimidating, and is considered a crime. For example, if someone messages you on Facebook that they will beat you up, it is considered a threat of physical injury. You can approach the relevant authorities, and file a complaint.
In legal terms, this is called criminal intimidation, and it is punishable with jail time up to two years or a fine or both.1
- Section 506, The Indian Penal Code. [↩]
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Online Harassment and Violence against LGBTQ+ Persons
Online abuse happens on various platforms on the internet - social media, chat forums, etc. When faced with online abuse, your first step should be to see what the policy of the platform where the abuse is happening, and what steps the platform recommends for you to stop it.
Himanshi
June 15, 2023
I am a 15 year old girl and someone on Instagram asked my nudes
Alka Manral
June 10, 2024
Firstly, make sure to keep the proof and gather further evidence. Take screenshots of the abusive post, comments, and any messages you might have received. Make sure the date and time are visible in the screenshots.
Report the abuse to Instagram: Instagram has mechanisms to report abusive content. You can report the post and the user who abused you. Here’s how to report abuse on Instagram: https://help.instagram.com/165828726894770
Various laws can apply to this situation in case you wish to pursue legal action –
1. Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act): Section 67 deals with publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form.
2. Section 509 of IPC: If you are a woman and this person tries to say any offensive words, or violates your privacy, then you can file an FIR for Section 509 of IPC.
3. Section 354A of IPC: If you are a woman and this person is making sexual remarks about you, then you can file an FIR for Section 354A of IPC. 4. Section 509B of IPC: If you are a woman from Chhattisgarh and this person does anything which is obscene or indecent so that he can harass you or cause annoyance or mental agony to you, then you can file an FIR for Section 509B of IPC.
To file the FIR, you can approach the Cyber Cell at the nearby police station. If there is no cyber cell, then you can file an FIR at any Police Station. You can also file a cyber complaint on this website – National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal: https://cybercrime.gov.in/. The website provides instructions as to filing the complaint and the documents necessary for it.
You can also call 1930, the national cybercrime helpline number, to report your problem.
You can call on the police helpline number 100.
In case of a woman, you can also call the helpline numer 1090 (National Woman Helpline) or 181 (Abhayam Helpline) or your state’s helpline number related to the same, which can be found at https://www.indiacustomercare.com/women-helpline-numbers.
Wajid
October 8, 2023
Hey one of my friend she’s studying collage random guy texted her In social media platform (Instagram) his id {vimal_niruban} he’s abusing her talking about her body structure kindly help us to stop those kind of abuses
Alka Manral
September 2, 2024
If your friend is being harassed on Instagram by someone making abusive comments about her body, she can take legal action . First, she should block and report the user on Instagram. Then, she can file a complaint with the local police or cybercrime cell under the Information Technology Act, 2000. The police can take action against the person for sending obscene or threatening messages. She should also save any evidence, like screenshots of the messages, to support her complaint.
Alka Manral
September 2, 2024
You can call the toll free number 1098 which provides 24*7 support for children. The child qualifies as a “child in need of care and protection” under Section 2 (14) (ii) of Juvenile Justice Act. If the child is being forced to beg or there are signs of abuse, that is a crime under Section 363A IPC ( Section 139 BNS) and Section 76 of the JJ Act, 2015 and police can be called in this case.
Sikha
December 7, 2024
If your friend is being harassed on Instagram by someone making abusive comments about her body, she can take legal action . First, she should block and report the user on Instagram. Then, she can file a complaint with the local police or cybercrime cell under the Information Technology Act, 2000. The police can take action against the person for sending obscene or threatening messages. She should also save any evidence, like screenshots of the messages, to support her complaint.