Jorhat sex scandal: How cybercrime is ruining families in Assam

Guwahati: When people talk about cybercrimes, it is India’s biggest cities that often hog the lion’s share of the limelight. Often, it is assumed, rather wrongly, that such crimes are only a big city problem. However, as anyone familiar with data released by the National Crime Records Bureau knows, Assam and cybercrime are a match made in crime heaven. A 2021 report showed that as per the NCRB data, cybercrime grew 12 per cent in India last year to touch 49,708 cases. Among states with at least 1,000 cases, Telangana, with 87 per cent and Gujarat, with 64 per cent, saw the most severe rise. 

Assam came third with 58 per cent growth.

Interestingly, in 2023, Assam reported a decline in cybercrime cases as 1,781 were reported in 2022, then Director General of Police Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta said in January. In 2021, the state had reported 4,846 cybercrime cases, which had come down to 1,781 last year.