A Mumbai-based professor lodged a complaint on Sunday, against two unidentified individuals who allegedly played porn in the midst of an online session. The students and teacher who fell prey to the embarrassing prank happen to be from a Vile Parle-based college in the city.

The Mumbai Cyber Cell police launched a deeper probe into the crime— as soon as the FIR was registered under relevant sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the IT Act— only to learn that the intent behind the inane act was for fun and entertainment, as cited by ANI News. The identities of the accused remain undisclosed as they are minors.

“In the last week, the Vile Parle-based college was conducting an online class when suddenly porn clips started playing. About 30 to 40 students and female professors were part of the class. The college approached us and we immediately registered a case against an unknown person,” said an officer from the Juhu police station, while speaking to Mid-Day.

While no arrests have been made so far, a detailed investigation awaits. “Investigation has revealed that the college system was hacked by an unknown person for playing porn clips just for fun and entertainment. We are tracking the accused’s IP address and will arrest the person soon,” stated another officer, whose identity remains undisclosed.

In a similar incident of sorts, a 15-year-old boy in Rajasthan was arrested after an untoward occurrence broke out during an online class at a Sakinaka-based college.

Digital crimes have been on the rise, given how online classes have become commonplace due to the COVID-19 guidelines and restrictions. Educational institutes in the country are likely to devise stringent punishments for those who carry out immoral acts under the pretext of mischief during online sessions. Several parts of India are expected to witness the third wave of the pandemic in the coming weeks.

Currently, the only solution to the entire scenario pertaining to digital crimes happens to be upping safety measures—online and off it. “Many such incidents have occurred in the city recently. We have asked colleges to not share their IDs and passwords for online classes with people outside the system. We have also told them that before giving entry to students their details should be verified,” suggested an officer from the cyber cell.

Hacker
A representational image. Photo by Kevin Ku/Upsplash