This post is also available in: ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
If you are a victim of online abuse or know someone being victimised, you must report it to the authorities. You can report online abuse in any of the following ways:
Approaching the Police Station
When you go to the police station to complain about a case of online abuse that you have faced, they will ask you to file an FIR. You should make sure you give all the information you know about incident and abuse that you have faced.
Cyber Cell
Cyber Cells are present in every state and some police stations may have a unit designated to work on cyber crimes. These cells or units will look into and help you out in cases of online violence such as online stalking, hacking, etc. In many states, you can file a complaint online through the website of the cyber cell. For instance, for Delhi, you can file an online complaint here.
If you want to file a complaint, you will have to either:
- File a complaint online with your respective state’s Cyber Cell website or
- Approach the police station where you will have to file an FIR which will be forwarded to the Cyber Cell.
Complaint Portals
Online Crime Reporting Portal
You can also lodge a complaint by using the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Online Crime Reporting Portal. You may be redirected to a specific State Government’s website to register a complaint.
Register a complaint in the section “Services for Citizen”, and click on “Report a Cyber Crime ”. Here, you can provide information about the offender, the victim, and the incident along with any supporting evidence, such as screenshots. You can report anonymously or with identification, and you can track your complaint as well.
Cyber Crime Reporting Portal
You can also directly file a complaint on the Cyber Crime Reporting Portal. Complaints can also be made anonymously. You can complain against various cybercrimes by selecting the option ‘Report Cyber Crime Related to Women/Child’ or ‘Report Other Cyber Crime’. You must login and create an account and select “Report and Track” if you wish to track your complaint.
2
This is Ananya Mishra from berhampur odisha. I am a phd student in life science. A boy named [Name Delete], phone no-[Mobile Number Deleted] continously harass me on whatsapp and facebook since april 2020. I don’t know this guy personally. He is no one to me. He threats me and my family, messages on my mother’s phone no in slang and offensive languages regularly.
Kindly take immediate action on this.
Thanking You
Regards
Ananya Mishra
PhD Life Science, Bhubaneswar
In this situation, you can approach the relevant authorities and file a complaint.
Online threats of causing physical injury or harassment can be intimidating, and is considered a crime. In legal terms, this is called criminal intimidation, and it is punishable with jail time up to two years or a fine or both.
Further, if someone uses abusive language against you, that person can be punished under the law. The abusive language should:
Relate to a feeling or revealing of a sexual interest or sexual desire against you; or
Relate to any excessive interest in sexual matters; or
Relate to content which would deprave or corrupt you if you read or saw it online, like pornography.
The punishment for the first conviction is jail time up to three years and a fine up to five lakhs, and for the second conviction, a jail term which may extend to five years and a fine up to ten lakhs.
Is it necessary that I have to complain about cyber abuse in police station?
Is there any help line number?
Someone send me very chep and vulgar words on instagram.
My family is knowing about my Instagram id.
But I didn’t tell them that last evening i.e 15 October 2020 , somebody message me like this…
He also send me a picture of his own private part.
I abused him back. I have used such a vulgar words before in my life. I’m scared to tell about this to my parents.
From same id he use vulgar words with my best friend mamta too…
She is also scared.
I can send you the screen shot of chatting
That he has send last evening.
Please keep thus secret
Because we are feared.
You can complain about online abuse to the police, cyber cells and online crime reporting portals. To know more, read here.
If someone uses abusive language against you online, that person can be punished under the law. The abusive language should:
1. Relate to a feeling or reveal a sexual interest or sexual desire against you or;
2. Relate to any excessive interest in sexual matters or;
3. Relate to content which would deprave or corrupt you, if you read or saw it online, like pornography.
The punishment for the first conviction is jail time up to three years and a fine up to five lakhs and for the second conviction, a jail term which may extend to five years and a fine up to ten lakhs.
Further, if someone publishes or distributes obscene material online, it is considered a crime. This is punishable with jail time of up to three years and a fine of up to five lakhs on first conviction, and jail time of up to five years and a fine of up to ten lakhs upon any subsequent conviction.
This is Gavnesh Talwar from Faridabad, Haryana. I am class 12 aspirant. Actually, a account named (offensive_nitkkr ) on Instagram posted a photo of Babaseheb Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar -The father of Constitution abusing him with the word BRA insulting the Most respectful person ever On 14 April Ambedkar Jayanti. I and my friends told him(the account holder) many many times to delete the post but he/she didnt take any action. We report the post or user but nothing happen.He is comparing babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar jayanti to BRA Jayanti. Please take immediate action against either account or post. The post must be deleted from social media. Hoping immediate action. And he also making fun when we are tolding him to delete. He was saying it is offensive group but meme to offensive words is just a meme but The man( Dr. B R Ambedkar is a proud , emotion etc. that cannot be compared to this unuseful, dumb thing.
Yours Obediently
Gavnesh Talwar
If the online material is offensive to you and you feel it is of defamatory nature to a famous person, you can file a complaint at the local police station for defamation which covers remarks, pictures and videos on social media and the complaint will be forwarded to the Cyber Cell for investigation and action.
theres one of my schoolmate abusing me & harassing me, in school group created by former school student, calling me day & night, using bad words for me & my family, spreading wrong information, & also she’s not guilty for it ! ganging up on me criticizing me out of the line !
Online abuse happens on various platforms on the internet such as social media, chat, forums, etc. When faced with online abuse, your first step should be to see what the anti-abuse policy of the platform is, and what steps the platform recommends for you to stop it. We have compiled a list of steps you can take for responding to abuse (blocking and reporting) on Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Twitter, Instagram, SnapChat, Reddit, YouTube, WhatsApp, and text messages on your phone.
Hello sir,
[Mobile Number Deleted] mobile number is sending me abuse msg and had clicked my personal video and again and asking me for money and saying if didn’t pay they will leak my video there google pay number[ Mobile Number Deleted]. There should be a strick action against them I am also attaching screen shot of chat and video
If you get anonymous threats online or you are blackmailed online, you can file a complaint with the cyber cell. To file a complaint, it is not necessary to know who is responsible for the crime. You should try and tell the police whatever you know, but you don’t have to know all the details. The person threatening or blackmailing you may be punished with jail time up to seven years or a fine or both.
A person is harassing me by calling again and again and blackmailing for money, his no:.. plz help
If a person is calling you multiple times without your consent, it is a form of online abuse. You can approach the police or your State Cyber cells for filing a complaint. You can also file an online complaint through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal. The person threatening or blackmailing is punishable with jail time up to seven years and/or a fine.To know more, read our explainer on reporting online abuse.
Hello,
I watched a video on whatsapp which was really disturbing and was indirectly empowering domestic violence. I received the video on a family whatsapp group. The video also said that it was forwarded many times. I tried to report on whatsapp, but I couldn’t attach video for reference. The video was showing a dhongi baba beating a South Indian woman brutally. The woman was taking his beatings helplessly, it was looking like ghost removal kind of a process, not so sure about what that exactly was. But these kind of videos have to be reported to our official Indian authorities who try to reach out to these women. We need to help that woman, we need to remove her superstitions and give her proper counselling. Many woman in our country face the same issue almost everyday. We need to speak up and need to bring change.
Please I request you to kindly look into this and help that woman. It was heartbreaking to see that video. Even that woman was crying at one point, but continued to take beatings.
Kindly report to official government authorities.
Thank you and regards
If you come across an incident of physical abuse such as the one you have mentioned, you can file an FIR. You can file an FIR if you have knowledge about a crime that has taken place or is about to take place. It is not necessary that you must have all the information about the crime in order to file an FIR. But it is important that you report everything you know to the police.
An FIR in itself is not a criminal case filed against someone. It is just information received by the police relating to the commission of a crime. An FIR can be filed at any police station. The fact that the crime may not have been committed in that police station’s jurisdiction has no effect on the filing of the complaint.