Aug-16Sec Flashcards
Aug-16Sec -Index
- National Crime Records Bureau Data, 2015
- First National Conference of investigating agencies
- Cybercrimes
- Organ Trafficking (organized illegal trade in organs)
- Maharashtra Protection of Internal Security Act
- Quantum Experiments at Space Scale (QUESS)
- Scorpene Submarine Data Leak
6.1. NATIONAL CRIME RECORDS BUREAU DATA, 2015
A. Crime against women
The year 2015 has witnessed a reduction in crime against women as compared to 2014.
Cases of rape have fallen by 5.7%. Offender known to victim in 95% cases.
There has been a increase of 2.5%, however, in other sexual offences against women. The category includes offences such as sexual harassment, assault or use of criminal force to women with intent to disrobe, voyeurism, and stalking.
Kidnapping and abduction of women also increased in 2015. Forcing a woman into marriage continues to be the chief reason to kidnap her.
Delhi has the highest rate of crimes against women overall.
B. Human trafficking victims
More than 50% cases of human trafficking involved minors and close 90% of them were girls trafficked to be forced into prostitution in 2015.
Assam and West Bengal have recorded the highest number of trafficking cases both among adults and children. The two states also have a high rate (incidents per 1 lakh population) of trafficking. The high numbers of cases were linked to the fact that these states bordered Bangladesh.
According to the NCRB data, Assam, West Bengal, Bihar and Haryana alone accounted for 85% of child trafficking cases in the country.
C. Crimes against children
Crimes against children rose 5.3% over 2014.
Kidnapping and abduction of children, the offence constituted 44.5% of total cases of crimes against children. It was closely followed by sexual offences
Sexual offences along with kidnapping and abduction constituted 81% of all cases of crimes against children in 2015.
Classification on the basis of relation between accused and the victim shows that close to 95% victims knew the accused. This is in line with all rapes in general in India.
D. Atrocities against Dalits
a staggering 45,003 cases of crimes were reported against individuals belonging to the SCs.
As per estimates of the Dalit population made by the NCRB, this works out to a crime rate of 22.3 per 100,000.
Reported cases of crimes against Scheduled Tribes in 2015 were fewer — 10,914 cases countrywide, working out to a rate of 10.5 per 100,000 ST population.
E. Incidents of rioting
Incidents of rioting remained almost the same in 2015 as compared to 2014, but as communal riots decreased, big increases were seen in other categories - agrarian, sectarian and student riots and caste conflicts.
Recorded incidents of agrarian riots jumped 327 per cent from 628 in 2014 to 2,683 in 2015.
Sectarian riots - defined as violence between sects of the same religion not considering caste conflict - showed a significant jump in incidents and convictions from a low base in 2014. Much of these incidents occurred in Uttar Pradesh.
The decrease in communal riots recorded by NCRB - from 1,227 in 2014 to 789 in 2015
The incidents of student riots increased by 85 per cent, from 261 to 485.
Kerala is the hotbed of political riots in the country with more than half (1,031) of the overall 1960 incidents.
6.2. FIRST NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF INVESTIGATING AGENCIES
The Union Home Minister inaugurated the first National Conference of investigating agencies. The conference was being organised by the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) in coordination with National Investigation Agency (NIA). Objective
The conference is aimed at providing a platform for the country’s different law enforcement agencies to come together and discuss a coordinated strategy to tackle crime. Highlights of Home minister Speech
Crime control has basically two dimensions: prevention and detection. Prevention is the best remedy since crime is nipped in the bud. However once the crime is committed, quality of investigation is the foundation on which detection is based.
As per the National Crime Records Bureau, the conviction rate of the crimes is very low, that is why Quality of investigation is crucial in ensuring justice for the victims and punishment for the offender.
Government has taken various steps to improve the quality of investigation.
In case of general crime, the Government has revamped the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network Systems (CCTNS) project for complete computerization of the working of police and extended it to court, jail, prosecution and forensic laboratories.
Women safety: To investigate the crime against women, dedicated Investigative Units on Crime against Women (IUCAW) are being established in 564 districts of India.
Crime against SC/ST: Government has strengthened Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act by amending it in 2014 and by this amendment, a new category of offences has been added.
Cyber Crime cases
Central Government has established Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Center (I4C) at National Level to deal with all types of cyber-crime.
The I4C can be utilized for investigation of Cyber-Crime including Child Pornography and Online Abuse.
I4C will act a nodal point in fight against Cyber Crime and also as Early Warning System for Law Enforcement Agencies.
It will also set up a platform for victims to lodge Cyber Crime complaints.
Challenges of social media
Due to widespread use of internet based Social Media by terrorists, we are facing new threats.
To face these challenges, the present capabilities of specialized organization like Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN), Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) need to be strengthened.
6.3. CYBERCRIMES
The number of cybercrime cases registered in India has risen by 350 per cent in the three-year period from 2011 to 2014, according to a joint study by PwC and Assocham.
In the past, attacks have been mostly initiated from countries such as the U.S., Turkey, China, Brazil, Pakistan, Algeria, Turkey, Europe, and the UAE.
However, with the growing adoption of the Internet and smart-phones, India has emerged “as one of the favourite countries among cyber criminals.”
6.4. ORGAN TRAFFICKING (ORGANIZED ILLEGAL TRADE IN ORGANS)
Why in News?
Arrest of several high-powered doctors engaged in organ transplant work at a top private hospital in Mumbai.
Reasons of such trade
Demand-Supply Gap: There is a huge unmet demand for organs by people suffering from organ failure that puts their life under threat. Such people will procure organs by whatever means possible. Very few registered donors. Low rates of donation from brain dead or deceased patients. On the supply side, as it were, there are a lot of poor people who are lured.
While in some cases people sell their kidneys for money, there are cases where the kidneys are removed without the patient’s consent. Legal provision The Transplantation of Human Organ Act, passed in 1994, makes ‘unrelated transplants’ criminal and to be allowed only through a rigorous process. The Act states that approval from an authorization committee is required before an unrelated organ donation can take place. The committee can be based at the State/regional level for small hospitals. For a large hospital conducting more than 25 transplants in a year, the committee can be internal. Way forward
The demand for organs could be met if the country taps into the pool of people who are brain dead and promotes organ donations. As the demand increases for organs (kidney, liver, heart, other tissues), a key method to outlaw the commercial trade of organs is by increasing voluntary supplies. And for that much greater awareness is needed. Many doctors have suggested that legalising incentives for donors is the best way to prevent exploitative middlemen. But in a country like India, beset with wide socio-economic disparities, providing incentives for organ donation could institutionalize the exploitation of the poor to provide organs for the rich.
Box–Organ trafficking, according to World Health Organization (WHO), is a commercial transplantation, where there is profit, or transplantations occur outside of national medical systems.
6.5. MAHARASHTRA PROTECTION OF INTERNAL SECURITY ACT
Why in news? The Maharashtra government has created a draft internal security Act meant to deal with challenges posed by “terrorism, insurgency, communalism and caste violence”. Maharashtra is the first State in the country to draft its own internal security act.
Key features of Maharashtra Protection of Internal Security Act (MPISA), 2016
The act has defined internal security as a situation ‘posing threat to state within its borders’.
The draft makes it compulsory for all public spaces – whether publicly or privately owned – to have CCTV surveillance and security arrangements as mandated by the police. Special Security Zones (SSZ) will be set up under the Act, where the movement of arms and explosives and the inflow of unaccounted funds will be prohibited. The act has also clearly defined the SSZs as having a separate police infrastructure.
It defines Critical Infrastructure Sectors (CIS), and bringing nuclear reactors, dams, major projects, coastal areas under its ambit.
There draft also calls for a ‘state internal security committee’, with home minister as ex-officio chairman and the minister of state (home) and the chief secretary as members.
The draft has a provision for a jail term of up to three years and fine for those threatening the State’s security.
Concerns with proposed Act
No liability of state: citizens wrongly charged under this law cannot sue the state or demand compensation because the state is protected from all such actions.
Human rights violation: In virtually every instance, unrestricted powers in the hands of the police under such laws have resulted in arbitrary arrests, cooked-up charges, long detention without trial, torture, and custodial deaths. An example of this, as relating to Maharashtra, is the 2006 Malegaon blasts case.
Compulsory installation of CCTV is against the individual’s right of privacy.
Multiplicity of laws: To manage internal security, the state has Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), 1999, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967, amended twice in 2008 and 2012 and the National Security Act (NSA), 1980.
6.6. QUANTUM EXPERIMENTS AT SPACE SCALE (QUESS)
China successfully launched the world’s first quantum satellite.
It is nicknamed ‘Micius’, after a 5th century BC Chinese philosopher and scientist who has been credited as the first one in human history conducting optical experiments.
In its two-year mission, QUESS is designed to establish “hack-proof” quantum communications by transmitting uncrackable keys from space to the ground, and provide insights into the strangest phenomenon in quantum physics - quantum entanglement.
6.7. SCORPENE SUBMARINE DATA LEAK
Scorpene is a conventional powered submarine weighing 1,500 tonnes and can go up to depths of 300m. Mazgaon Docks Limited (MDL) is building 6 Scorpene submarines with technology transfer from DCNS of France. Data Leak
A massive data leak detailing the combat and stealth capabilities of the Indian Navy’s soon-to-be inducted French Scorpene submarines has been reported.
The report states that the leak could provide crucial intelligence data to India’s strategic rivals, such as Pakistan or China.
India began multiple investigations to determine the extent of damage caused by the reported leak.
Defence officials underplayed the impact of the data leak on Scorpenes, stating that the information released related to technical specifications were given by the manufacturer while the operational specifications would be determined by the Navy once the submarine was inducted. Concerns for India
One, the contents of the report will
undermine India’s maritime security.
Two, it will disrupt the country’s Indian
Ocean strategy. Chinese submarine
activity in the Indian Ocean has increased
dramatically the past few years.
Three, it is another reminder of India’s
need to re-look at its cyber security and
defence production norms.
One vulnerability is the fact India
continues to import almost all of its
military needs. The multiplicity of
players this introduces means the
likelihood of leaks and hacks
increases.
Two is that, India remains a laggard in terms of securing its more sensitive systems. Cyber security remains a policy domain fragmented among over a dozen agencies. Recommendations for a cyber security command remain on paper.
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