VIJAYAWADA: In a bid to create awareness about cybercrime against women, Home Minister Mekathoti Sucharita and Director General of Police (DGP) D Gautam Sawang on Tuesday launched ‘BeSafe’, an app to educate women on good touch, bad touch, OTP frauds, social media scams, Dial 100 and protection against data theft.
Addressing a gathering of college students who attended a meet to discuss ‘women safety in cyberspace’, Sucharitha said the YSRC government was contemplating introducing a new legislation providing for stringent punishment to those involved in crimes against women.
Appreciating the police department for bringing in various initiatives for women safety, she said they can now lodge complaints online through helplines and social media without having to go to police station.
Expressing concern over more and more people becoming victims of online harassment, Sucharitha requested the students to utilise helplines such as 100, 112 and 181 to bring any form of harassment to the notice of the police.
“Disturbing incidents such as brutal rape and murder of Nirbhaya and Disha have posed major challenges to the existing laws. Women need to be cautious and protect their personal data from cyber criminals. In many cases, victims suffer in silence. One has to empower oneself by being aware of the advantages and disadvantages of the present technology,” Sucharita added.
DGP Gautam Sawang said Mahila Mithra, Mahila Rakshak and Sthree Shakthi were some of the initiatives by the police department to create a safe and secure environment for women and children.
“We are working round-the-clock for you. Cyber Mithra will deal with cases pertaining to cyber abuse and cyber crimes. I request everyone to be a part of the ‘cyber club’ and bring incidents you face to our notice,” DGP Sawang told the students.
Sawang further said he would visit all colleges in the city to create awareness among the student community about cybercrime against women.Vijayawada Commissioner of Police (CP) Ch Dwaraka Tirumala Rao explained that the primary objective of introducing the smartphone application was to help women in distress and educate them about actions and precautions needed to be taken in cyberspace.
“With no awareness on cyber frauds, many women and students are falling prey to cybercrime and suffering in silence. I suggest that every woman download the app and recommend the same to their family members.”
He added that the Cyber Mithra teams have created 47 WhatsApp groups for girl students of 34 colleges in the city.Minister for Women and Child Welfare Taneti Vanitha and AP Mahila Commission chairperson Vasireddy Padma were also present.