Cybercrime is steadily increasing in Shillong, and criminals today no longer need to be physically present to commit offences, observed Justice Hamarsan Singh Thangkhiew, judge in-charge of the Meghalaya State Judicial Academy.
During a training programme on “Cybercrime & the Court: Law, Evidence & Practice” organised by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) at the Meghalaya High Court, he shared a recent case involving a Shillong-based lawyer. She was tricked into sending ₹90,000 after receiving an AI-generated voice call that perfectly imitated her senior advocate. Believing the call to be genuine, she approved the transaction using an OTP.
Investigators later discovered that the money trail passed through several mobile numbers from Bihar and Haryana. A man was arrested, but his SIM card had been misused without his knowledge. “He turned out to be just a pawn,” the judge said.
Justice Thangkhiew explained that cybercrime probes often require coordination between multiple agencies, especially when bank accounts are frozen to stop further transactions. At times, he noted, innocent people suffer when their accounts are mistakenly frozen, affecting their daily lives and income.
He pointed out that while technology has improved convenience—whether for online banking, shopping or work—it has also opened new avenues for digital fraud. He further highlighted that the three new criminal laws replacing the IPC, CrPC and Evidence Act aim to address challenges related to jurisdiction, new-age offences and electronic evidence.
Justice Thangkhiew expressed confidence that such training sessions will help judicial officers better understand evolving cybercrime patterns, methods of preserving electronic data and the crucial role courts must play in handling digital offences effectively.
