Mamata Banerjee flags rising cybercrime, urges Amit Shah to act

Time of India

2 days ago

Mamata Banerjee alerted Amit Shah about social media's impact and cybercrime increase. She urged public awareness and digital literacy. Provocative content may incite violence and communal issues. West Bengal also addressed Odisha regarding migrant worker harassment. Migrants from West Bengal face targeting in Odisha. They are unjustly labeled as Bangladeshi. Identity documents are dismissed, causing distress.
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Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee , in a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday, expressed concern over rising impact of social media content and over the rising cases of cybercrimes. She appealed to Shah to promote public awareness programs digital literacy campaigns and community participation to deal with cyber crimes.Banerjee said that provocative content on social media potentially incites violence, communal sentiments and crimes against women. Banerjee expressed "deep" concerns over the matter and said that 'the proliferation of provocative content' on some sections of social media platforms and the alarming rise in cybercrime are posing as serious challenges to public peace and the social fabric of the country.'In recent times, it has been observed that incendiary narratives, misleading stories and fake videos circulating on social media are contributing significantly to the aggravation of criminal tendencies among certain sections of society,' Banerjee said in her letter.'Such content not only spreads misinformation but also has the potential to inflame communal sentiments, incite violence, disrupt societal harmony and indulge in crime against women. The instantaneous and wide-reaching nature of misuse of digital platforms amplifies these effects manifold,' she pointed out.The West Bengal chief minister's remarks come at a time in the backdrop of the recent incident of rape of a law student within the premises of South Calcutta Law College in Kolkata."Notably, both provocative social media posts and cybercrimes disproportionately affect the vulnerable sections of society—women, children, the elderly, and those from economically weaker backgrounds—who are often less equipped to identify, counter, or recover from such harm. This exacerbates existing social inequities and leaves large segments of our population exposed to profound psychological, financial and social distress," the CM said in her letter to Shah.She stressed on the urgent need for stringent 'legal provisions' that can act effectively against the creation and circulation of provocative content, and "acts perpetrated with criminal intent in cyberspace.'It is important that sensitization programs, digital literacy campaigns and community engagement initiatives must be pursued vigorously to equip citizens with the tools to critically evaluate online information and to report suspicious activities promptly,' she urged in her letter.She also pointed out to issues like 'financial frauds and identity theft to online harassment and defamation, cybercrimes are exacting a severe toll on individuals and institutions alike.'West Bengal Chief Secretary, wrote a letter to his Odisha counterpart, Manoj Ahuja about her concern about the continuous 'harassment' faced by migrant labourers from West Bengal in Odisha.'I write to you with deep anguish and serious concern regarding the continuing harassment faced by people from West Bengal who have migrated to various parts of Odisha for livelihood. These individuals including daily wage earners, rickshaw pullers, domestic workers, and long-settled families-have contributed meaningfully to Odisha's workforce and socio-economic fabric,' Pant wrote in the letter.Pant said that it is 'deeply distressing' that many of migrant labourers are being 'targeted solely because they speak Bengali' and they are being 'unjustly labelled as Bangladeshi infiltrators.''This sweeping generalisation is not only unfair and discriminatory, but also deeply hurtful to citizens who have every right to dignity and protection under the law,' the letter read.'We are receiving disturbing reports of such individuals being detained without due legal process in regions around Paradip and across coastal districts such as Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Bhadrak, Malkangiri, Balasore and Cuttack… when these persons produce valid identity documents including Aadhaar cards, ration cards, voter IDs, electricity bills, and PDS documents - their claims are being dismissed. In many instances, they are being asked to produce ancestral land records dating back several generations, an unreasonable and unjustifiable demand for migrant workers,' Banerjee said.