Delhi Police Sensitises Senior Citizens on ‘Digital Arrest’ in Citywide Cyber Safety Drive

New Delhi : Continuing the sustained efforts to spread awareness about Digital Arrest, the Delhi Police PRO Branch, in collaboration with IFSO, SPUWAC, and all Police Districts of Delhi, today organized a comprehensive Cyber Crime Awareness Session on the issue of Digital Arrest for Senior Citizens. The programme was conducted simultaneously across all territorial Police Stations of Delhi, as well as at the Senior Citizens Cell, SPUWAC Unit.

As part of the programme, an enlightening discussion session on cyber safety awareness was held jointly by  Manoj Kumar, ACP/IFSO and Ranjay Atrishya, ACP/APRO. The session was streamed live on the official YouTube channel of Delhi Police. Special arrangements were made at all Police Stations and also at units with 250 screens, to facilitate live viewing of the session, where senior citizens were invited in person to attend and benefit from the programme. A large number of participants also joined the session online.

Senior citizens attending the session in person were also provided with specially designed educational pamphlets focusing on awareness about digital arrest. Additionally, standees and posters on cyber safety were displayed at the venues, and short cyber safety awareness videos were screened prior to the commencement of the live stream.

During the joint discussion session, streamed live, senior citizens—the target audience—who were present physically at police stations as well as those participating online were sensitized to the differences between the digital world and the physical world, and how cyber criminals exploit this divide to target vulnerable sections of the society. The participants were informed about the tactics used by cyber criminals to falsely create scenarios of so-called “digital arrest.” They were also made aware of fake notices of enforcement agencies, which are commonly used by criminals for intimidation.

Senior citizens were advised that upon receiving any suspicious call or message, they should remain calm, avoid sharing any personal or financial information, not to go in isolation but consult family members, take screenshots or preserve evidence of the suspicious communication, and report the incident promptly to the appropriate authorities. The procedure for reporting cyber crimes was also explained in detail. It was reiterated that there is no concept of “digital arrest” in the Criminal Justice System, and participants were encouraged to always remember and practice the maxim “STOP, THINK, and ACT.”

To make the session more engaging and inspiring, Ranjay Atrishya, ACP/APRO, recited self-composed poems to motivate and honor the senior citizens, adding a personal touch to the awareness programme.

Today’s programme forms part of the continuous and focused efforts of Delhi Police to combat cyber crimes under the leadership of  Satish Golchha, IPS, Commissioner of Police, Delhi.

The motive of today’s programme was to complement Delhi Police’s ongoing online awareness campaigns to communicate key cyber safety message to a wider audience. It also intended to reach the maximum number of senior citizens and educate them about cyber crimes, with special emphasis on the emerging threat of digital arrest frauds.

In the recent past, multiple cyber safety awareness programmes have been conducted by Delhi Police. These include two editions of Cyber संवाद, under the first, 350 computer teachers from various Delhi schools were trained on cyber crime modus operandi and preventive strategies at PHQ, and during Cyber संवाद 2.0, lakhs of students and teachers from over 1,000 government and private schools participated in awareness session in online mode. Additionally, the SPUWAC Unit organized a dedicated programme for senior citizens where noted cyber expert Sh. Rakshit Tandon delivered an insightful lecture on cyber safety.