Re-arrest & Cyber Crime FIRs in Medical Student Image-Morphing Case

Thiruvananthapuram: On July 24, police registered two additional criminal cases against Abel Augustine, a third-year MBBS student, for downloading social media photos and Instagram stories of fellow female medical students, digitally morphing them into obscene images, and circulating them online. This brought the total FIRs filed against him to five, with investigators suspecting over 20 female students were targeted. 

Action to be Taken: 

 Police should conduct a thorough cyber forensic investigation, ensure that all complaints are registered as separate cases where appropriate, and prosecute the accused under the relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The victims should be provided with psychological counselling, legal support, and assistance in removing the morphed images from online platforms. Medical colleges should strengthen cyber safety awareness, digital ethics education, and grievance redressal mechanisms, while social media platforms should cooperate promptly with law enforcement to remove abusive content and preserve digital evidence.

📰 Source: The hindu (English)