Officers from the Cyber ​​Bureau of the Nepal Police, which investigates digital violence, conducted an investigation in November 2078 that, upon recall, was unimaginable to anyone. While investigating Love Khadgi, 20, of Bhotbahal, Kathmandu, who was arrested on charges of threatening to make nude photos of a teenager public, a shocking fact came to light for the police.

 ‘We were receiving a lot of complaints from the bureau threatening to make nude photos public, so we were investigating it as if it were a normal case,’ says an officer involved in the investigation, ‘But when Khadgi’s test report came, it shocked us.’ According to the officer, nude photos and videos of not just one person but 46 girls and young women were recovered from Khadgi’s mobile phone. Initially, the police suspected that the photos were faked by photoshopping. However, the investigation took a new turn when it was discovered that all the photos were real. 

When questioned by the police, Khadgi admitted that some of them were ex-girlfriends and that some of them were sent to Instagram. "He was found to have been following many victims until then, many of whom were initially scolded for not following back and threatened to send screenshots of their vulgar comments to their parents when the girl started responding," the officer said. "The girl gradually started sending nude photos out of fear that her family would be sent her conversations." 

According to the police, he initially sent photos of a certain part below the neck and threatened not to tell anyone. Later, he even made her send videos. The girl who filed the complaint mentioned this issue and when Khadgi continued to harass her even after sending photos and videos repeatedly, she told a family member. After that, the police started an investigation. Based on her complaint, it was found that Khadgi, who is a tattoo artist by profession, used to post nude photos and videos of her clients. 

In his statement to the police, Khadgi revealed that he was addicted to looking at as many 'nude' photos as possible. That is why he victimized different girls and teenagers, say officials. Police officers involved in the investigation say that Khadgi's behavior may be a form of mental illness. 

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Anita (name changed) 24, of Madhesh Province, was in a relationship with Ram Bihari Safi 27, of Sinamangal. When the relationship was going well, they would even exchange passwords for each other's social media accounts. They would also have consensual sex. A year ago, their relationship broke down. 'After the breakup, we went our separate ways, but one day he sent a message threatening to ruin it,' Anita's complaint states. 'At that time, he also sent me a photo and video of me doing obscene activities in which my face was visible.' 

After seeing that video, she felt as if she had fallen off a cliff. ‘He blackmailed me by sending the video without my knowledge,’ says the victim. ‘I filed a complaint after sending the photo and video to another friend of mine on TikTok.’ Police arrested Safi on 20 Chaitra 2081. Safi stated that he did it ‘out of anger for being betrayed in love’.

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A 27-year-old woman from Kathmandu bought a kurta from an online shopping store seven months ago. She had to pay 1,500 rupees for the kurta she bought from a page called Divine Boutique on the social network Instagram. ‘However, he made me deposit money again and asked me to write an OTP while making the payment. By the time I came to know about his intentions, an additional 62,000 rupees in my account had already gone to his account,’ says the victim. 

She repeatedly pleaded on the same page to return the money. However, she never imagined that the proposal he made, saying ‘If you need money, do one thing’, would be like this. She was asked for obscene photos/videos from the same online shopping page. And, she was told that she would get her money back only if she sent them. She then stopped requesting, but a message was sent saying, "Don't you want your money back?" The victim then filed a complaint with the Cyber ​​Bureau. The police are still investigating the matter. 

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Nimesh Bardewa, 39, of Nuwakot, met a woman from Kathmandu, 'Cyber ​​Bureau 19', through the social network TikTok four years ago. Later, they also got involved in professional work, which increased the intimacy of their relationship through digital means. Both were married, but they have told the police that they were not happy in their relationship. 'We used to meet, go for walks from time to time, and even have consensual physical relations,' Bardewa said in her statement to the police, 'We used to take personal and secret photos and videos of us walking, sitting, and having fun like that.'

 Later, the relationship between the two deteriorated. At that time, Bardeva had filed a complaint with the Cyber ​​Bureau, saying that he had ‘started demanding money by showing me videos he had taken during a meeting and posted on TikTok drafts.’ ‘He had not returned the money to me on various pretexts, and as his behavior deteriorated, he started blackmailing me based on old photos and videos,’ the woman said in her complaint. ‘After this incident, I had blocked him, but he wrote obscene words from a fake TikTok account and posted my semi-nude photos.’ He also sent obscene messages about her to the victim’s relatives. The woman then filed a complaint with the bureau, saying that there was an attempt to assassinate her character. Based on her complaint, the police have arrested Bardeva and initiated an investigation under the Electronic Transactions Act, 2063. 

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With increasing access to the internet, the number of victims of cybercrime is also increasing. The Cyber ​​Bureau of the police alone has received about 2,800 complaints of violence against women through digital means until mid-Kartik 2082/83. In the fiscal year 2081/82, 8,040 and 9,000 complaints were filed in 2080/81. According to Deepa Bhattarai, a police inspector at Pillar, which looks into violence against women and children under the bureau, the most cases of ‘revenge porn’ are reported to the police. ‘Initially, there are girlfriends and boyfriends or even husbands and wives, but after the relationship deteriorates, there is a tendency to send objectionable photos and videos to relatives or make them public, and this is revenge porn,’ she said, ‘Such incidents are on the rise now.’

This problem affects teenagers under the age of 18 and married people. For example, the case filed in the District Court, Kathmandu on 1 Jestha 2082 after the Cyber ​​Bureau completed its investigation can be taken. While the victim was in a romantic relationship with a minor, the accused, 24-year-old Afzal Mansur, took obscene photos of the victim. According to the police, he had taken videos of the girl taking off her clothes and sleeping without her knowing. However, when they had a falling out and their relationship deteriorated, he started blackmailing the victim. 

‘I had blocked social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp,’ the victim told the police, ‘but he threatened me by sending me semi-nude photos from another number.’ According to Mansur’s statement, he did so in a fit of rage. However, his actions attracted the Electronic Transactions Act, 2063. The case was initiated under Section 47 of the same Act. 

Section 47 states that illegal things should not be published in electronic form. Section 47(a) provides that ‘any person who publishes or displays on computers, the Internet and other electronic media materials prohibited by law from being published or displayed, or materials that are against public morality, decency, or that spread hatred or malice towards anyone or disrupt the harmonious relations between different castes and communities, or who teases, harasses, insults women or commits or causes to be committed any other such indecent act, shall be liable to a fine of up to one lakh rupees or imprisonment for up to five years, or both.’ 

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According to Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Navinda Aryal, head of the Cyber ​​Bureau, most of the people filing complaints with the bureau are in the age group of 19 to 25, and even teachers and women from rural areas have become victims. Celebrities have also approached the bureau with complaints claiming to be victims. 

In some cases, well-known people in society have been involved in cybercrime. ‘Nowadays, even women living abroad are filing complaints claiming to have been subjected to cyber violence,’ said Aryal. ‘Now that the system has been set up to file complaints digitally, the number of complaints has increased.’ 

According to her, in Nepal, even when a family member files a complaint, the police investigate cases in which a Nepali citizen is the victim. However, according to investigation officers, some women and girls who are victims of cyber violence are afraid to even approach the police. ‘First, they cannot openly tell anyone about what has happened to them, and second, they are afraid to even approach the police and tell them,’ says Police Inspector Bhattarai. ‘Now, we have female officers in the bureau to listen to the problems of women and girls so that there are no problems there.’ 

She says that she has heard that some women and girls have even contemplated suicide after being harassed by digital violence, saying, “We consider them to have won a big battle just by reaching the bureau and we are investigating them diligently.” Now, social media companies are also helping in the investigation of crimes related to women and children.

Social media platforms Facebook and WhatsApp have responded to 80 percent of the details requested by the police. “In 20 percent, some are living abroad, they are also out of jurisdiction,” she says, “However, we have brought even those who are abroad under the scope of investigation.”

The bureau arrested 33-year-old Sagir Ahmed from Pyuthan from Dubai on charges of ‘grooming’ and digital abuse through social media platforms Facebook and brought him to Kathmandu on 4 Pus 2080. During the investigation, after learning that the perpetrator had gone to Dubai for foreign employment, the police wrote a letter to the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) seeking help in arresting him. Based on that, a 'red notice' was issued at Interpol, and he was arrested with the help of Dubai police and brought to Kathmandu.