The Rise In Stalking: This week on Friday, October 7, a 22-year-old woman from Jharkhand’s Dumka was killed after she was set ablaze by a man who had proposed to her.

Maruti Kumari rejected the married man’s marriage proposal, and he set her ablaze. She died hours later in a hospital and the accused was arrested, according to the police. This incident follows the killing of 19-year-old Ankita Singh of Dumka in August in which the accused man had allegedly set her ablaze for rejecting his proposal.

Last month also, India saw a horrifying crime against a 16-year-old girl who was set on fire because she refused a man’s advances in Jharkhand stalking case. According to reports, the accused had been stalking her for days.

This may seem strange but the majority of girls and their families ignore the stalkers’ acts and don’t take this as a serious concern to avoid any kind of trouble. And because of this, while some make headlines, thousands of stalking cases go unreported in India, unless they turn into far more heinous crimes like kidnapping, rape, or murder.

In India, stalking is still not considered a ‘serious’ crime, which leads to hesitation about reporting it, and when the victim confides in the police, our ‘so-called’ law allows the accused to get bail till the trial. Funny right?

THE HIDDEN FACT IN MANY CASES IS, STALKING WAS THE ACCUSED’S FIRST STEP TO COMMIT THE MOST HEINOUS CRIME – RAPE AND MURDER BUT SADLY, NO ONE IS REALISING ENOUGH INCLUDING THE INDIAN LAW.

SURGE IN STALKING CASES IN INDIA

According to the NCRB report 2018, a single case of stalking has been reported every 55 minutes in India and the most recent report from NCRB reveals that in 2021, there was only a small decrease in the number of stalking cases which is from 9,438 cases in 2018 to 9,285 cases in 2021. However, these are just the reported numbers and also many incidents are not even registered.

NCRB REPORT 2021

CASES REPORTED FROM STATES

State Cases

Maharashtra – 2131

Telangana – 1265

Andhra Pradesh – 1185

Madhya Pradesh – 1072

Haryana – 558

Rajasthan – 476

Orissa – 397

Kerala – 393

Uttar Pradesh – 318

Delhi – 271

CASES OF STALKING

Year Cases

2014 – 4699

2015 – 6266

2016 – 7190

2017 – 8145

2018 – 9488

2019 – 8810

2020 – 8512

2021 – 9285

Recent data released by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shows that stalking cases in India are on a rise. A total of 9,285 cases of stalking were reported in the year 2021, showing nearly one case being reported every hour and 25 cases being reported in a day.

DEALING WITH INCREASING TRAUMA

A total of 12,947 stalking cases were under investigation in 2018, of which 9,438 new cases and 3,505 cases are pending from previous years according to the NCRB data show. Also, four cases were re-opened for investigation as per officials.

It was also reported that almost a third (31.4%) investigation of the cases was pending by the end of the year 2018, and a tenth (10.7%) of the cases were disposed of without a charge sheet being filed.

Because of no support, women find it hard to report harassment, said a Delhi-based activist. Police find thousands of ways to refuse filing cases and most harassment cases and stalking cases are settled within the police station. And even after a case is filed, the police may not take action fast enough,” says the activist.

“In the majority of the situation, no arrest is made and if the victim requests for her protection, she has to go through another long procedure,” the activist added.

A rise in the offence of stalking has been seen in the country from 6,266 reported cases in 2015 to 8,145 in 2017. It has been observed that over 75% of women are victims of cyberstalking but the data is insufficient because most of the cases go unreported.

CYBERSTALKING

Stalking is not limited to unwanted following but also includes repeated phone calls, surfing social media profiles, or sending unwarranted letters.

With the increasing technology, stalking has also advanced and has multiple factors and dimensions in the form of cyberstalking. It is characterized by repeated victimisation and almost all developed nations have directly or indirectly criminalised this offence.

Cyberstalking is a criminal activity in which the person becomes an attacker by harassing a victim using electronic communication, like e-mail or instant messaging (IM), or calling without permission and sending vulgar messages. Cyberstalker relies upon the anonymity given by the Internet technology to allow them to stalk their victim without being detected which also makes it easier for them to know almost everything about the victim if he or she is active on social media.

In stalking also, multiple factors amount to hatred arising due to broken relationships, Jealousy, obsession, and attraction, along with FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and Erotomania (in which a person believes that his victim is in love with him and is sexually inclined.

PUNISHMENT FOR CYBER-STALKING

Under Section 67 of the Act, if a stalker sends or posts any vulgar/obscene content to the victim or about the victim via social or electronic media, then they will be liable to be punished with 5 years of prison along with a fine of Rs 1 lakh will be imposed. Also, if the person repeats the same incident, then they will be liable to be punished with 10 years of prison and a Rs 2 lakh fine will be imposed.

The stalking offence is criminalised under the IPC (Indian Penal Code), 1860. The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act of 2013 to the IPC (Indian Penal Code) introduced section 354D which deals with stalking. It specifies that a man who follows a woman or contacts her or attempts to do so even on a clear indication that she is not interested in making such acquaintance amounts to stalking.

STALKER CHARACTERISTICS

Experts say that stalkers at times get influenced by movies or television shows and there are different reasons why some individuals turn into one. According to psychiatrists and law enforcement, there are some established categories of stalkers as a way to assess the risks they pose to their victims.

Here is the list of some of the profiles that experts, psychiatrists and the healthcare industry have identified and documented:

REJECTED STALKER

When some stalkers are rejected by a person, they wanted a relationship with, or have just experienced a breakup with them, then the stalker may be looking for a way to salvage their relationship. Also, they are willing to remain as close to the victim as much as they can. So, in other words, they’re hurt, angry, and looking for a way to get revenge for being rejected.

PREDATORY STALKER

Such people are often sexually obsessed and are perverts with deviant sexual fantasies. In many cases for men, their victims are usually women who may be strangers or known, but the stalker has an emotional or sexual interest. The victim may never notice this as it starts with emotional attachment or voyeurism, which becomes a precursor to a sexual assault. Also, it has been seen that such stalkers at times turn out to be most dangerous, by hiring a killer who can stalk to badly injure or murder the person they are stalking.

INCOMPETENT SUITOR

Such types of individuals are the ones who are typically incompetent at relationships, lonely, and target strangers or casual acquaintances. They have this mindset to assume that they can convince anyone and consider them as objects of their desire to start dating them. They pretend to be so innocent can often seem nice just to make the victim suffer more and inflict some pain on them. It has also been found that many of these idiot stalkers have poor social skills (LOL).

RESENTFUL STALKER

Some become stalkers due to illogical reasons such as if they’ve been mistreated in some way or the other or they have some power because they are ‘exes’ or were cheated by their partner. According to experts, it has been observed that such stalkers often have some form of mental illness, and persecution and experience feelings of paranoia or can be self-righteous and self-pitying. If they are stalking their victim, then mainly because they want revenge for their perceived mistreatment. They usually feel like they have some kind of right or power over the victim as they stalk them.

INTIMACY-SEEKER

Such stalkers are often mentally ill and believe the victim will love or learn to love them if they keep stalking them. Well, such stalkers need help as they have a delusional belief that the victim already does love them. In such cases, the only thing you can do is not to provoke them (stalkers) and reach out to your family.

Expert Viewpoint

“It’s a fact that stalkers are often unemployed or under-employed and have nothing better to do with their life. They are delusional and have narcissistic personalities or personality disorders which is present in more than half the stalkers who have been evaluated”, says Jaipur-based Divination Practitioner and Energy Healer Vibha Sharma.

“Today, cases of online harassment, along with cyberstalking, towards women have increased significantly after the pandemic which has certainly turned physical stalking into virtual stalking. With increasing technology, it’s now very easy to stalk people because there are so many apps, stalkerware, spyware, and social media tools available and the internet gives the option of anonymity to the stalkers, making identifying and tracking such fake profiles difficult for the cyber police, added Sharma.

Any kind of stalking can be dangerous, so there is no such thing as ‘harmless stalking’ always remember that. Plus, if the stalker continues to repeat their actions despite the victim’s warning, no matter if it is – offline or online – then it can be very dangerous and you need to then file a complaint before it’s too late”, Sharma further said.

“Today, online stalking is very common among youngsters, who spend the majority of their time on social media and dating sites, and women are at the highest risk. Students and individuals who are living alone should be very careful because by using or hacking victims’ social media profiles, and tracking check-ins, maps, and street view, stalkers can keep track virtually and can discover their location, and can even hijack their webcam, says Sharma.

ARE YOU BEING STALKED ONLINE? HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO

Keep an eye on comments on your posts and collect evidence before they delete them. If you suspect anything fishy, block them straight away, and keep your profiles private and limited to your friends.

You can also inform or report the account immediately to the administrator of the group or social media platform. If that doesn’t work, reach out to cybercrime.gov.in (the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal), the Cyber Crime Cell (through their social media platforms), or the nearest police station.