Pocso cases up in Mangaluru; Better mobile access making kids vulnerable?

By Ganesh Mavanji

Mangaluru: In what could be a cause of worry for the authorities and police, POCSO cases have been on the rise in Mangaluru commissionerate limits and one of the reasons is the easy access school children had to mobile phones over the last two years for attending online classes.

The child welfare committee has come to this conclusion after examining the POCSO cases registered in Mangaluru over the last few months. Of the total POCSO cases registered in Mangaluru commissionerate limits, 70 percent happened due to smart phones. This is because the victims were being contacted by the accused through smart phones. The cases reveal that the girls were contacted by criminals through social media and later exploited by them.

Among the seven cases of POCSO registered by Mangaluru police over three months, five are indirectly related to the misuse of smart phones. As some private schools and colleges made it mandatory for students to attend online classes, parents bought mobile phones for their children. They also opened accounts in social media which helped them to get in contact with several people. While some contacts helped them to gain academic knowledge, others tried to mislead and exploit them, said police sources.

It was also observed that some teenage girls were misused by mobile phone technicians when they gave their smart phones for repairs. Their photos and personal details were easily accessed by these technicians who later blackmailed the girls, said sources.

Renny D’Souza, President of the DK district child welfare committee has asked parents to take utmost care of their children. “Providing smart phones to children may be the need of the hour in the present circumstances but we also ensure they do not get addicted to these phones”, he says.

Cyber expert Ananth Prabhu stressed the need for encrypting phones when they are given for repairs. If this is not done, there is a possibility of misuse, he said.