Village in Haryana bans smartphones to tackle cybercrime

Gurugram, Jun 23 (PTI) Troubled by smart phone addiction and steer youngsters away from the influence of cybercrime, people in Haryana’s Sukhpuri village have taken a drastic step to break free from the habit — smashing phones into pieces.

A video showing people in Nuh district destroying 35 expensive mobile phones has gone viral on social media.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Abhishek Khatkar said on Tuesday that the incident occurred last week following the panchayat’s decision to ban smartphones completely in the village.

Asaf Ali, a villager of Sukhpuri village, said, “It was a symbolic initiative. We cannot stop everyone, but if the youth stay away from mobile phones, they will stop getting involved in cybercrime.” The panchayat has now decided

to switch to keypad phones.

The decision stems from police identifying 60 villages in the district as cybercrime hotspots, with nearly one in nine cybercrime cases reported across the country traced to Nuh.

According to officials, Nuh, in recent years, has emerged as a hub of India’s organised cybercrime, surpassing Jharkhand’s Jamtara in terms of capacity and scale.

They said that unemployment, poverty and easy access to low-cost smartphones with good internet connectivity have lured youths into making phishing calls and earn quick money.

Villagers believe that the smartphone addiction lies at the root of many of their problems, with some claiming that it has even driven families apart.

The panchayat had declared they would sever all links with the criminal world and switch back to basic keypad handsets. PTI COR KSI KSI