PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
The concluding day of the Crime Literature Festival of India, organised by the Doon Cultural and Literary Society (DCLS), saw a culmination of conversations examining crime through the lenses of media, technology, justice, faith, literature, cinema and lived realities here on Sunday. The closing day witnessed sessions led by former commissioners of Delhi Police Amod Kanth and Neeraj Kumar, Uttarakhand’s former DGPs Anil Raturi and Ashok Kumar, actress Tridha Choudhury and others.
In the session on “Perspectives on Reporting Crime: Print versus Television”, journalists Ashwini Bhatnagar and Shams Tahir Khan in conversation with Anupam Trivedi discussed the contrasting responsibilities, pressures and ethical challenges of crime reporting across media formats. Bhatnagar observed that journalism today is caught in a blur between content and news, with sensationalism often replacing factual reporting, leading to a sharp decline in media credibility. Khan remarked that the media has shifted from journalism to entertainment, noting that media trials can both influence judicial processes and force authorities to act, while also shaping public thinking through selective narratives. Trivedi highlighted shifting consumption patterns from print to television and digital media, warning that the absence of editorial filters today has led to irresponsible reporting on sensitive issues such as caste and religion, deepening social divides.
The session on “Framed by AI: Deepfakes and the Risk of Digital Arrest,” saw additional SP, Intelligence and Security, Ankush Mishra, journalist Mitali Chandola and cyber specialist Gagandeep Kaur discussing the growing dangers of AI-driven crime and digital manipulation. Mishra explained how deep fakes, ranging from morphed images to voice cloning, are created, stressing that everyone has a digital footprint and cyber hygiene is crucial. Chandola noted that crime has largely shifted online, warning that “digital arrest” exploits victims psychologically and that awareness remains the strongest defence. Kaur highlighted the rising threat of cybercrime, particularly sextortion, where victims are trapped and blackmailed through video calls.
In “Innocence at Risk: The Complex Landscape of Juvenile Justice”, IPS and social activist Amod Kanth spoke with former DGP Anil Raturi on the vulnerabilities of children within the justice system, stressing reform, rehabilitation and accountability. During the discussion, Kanth emphasised that the juvenile justice system focuses on care rather than punishment, with records cleared to protect a child’s future. He noted that juvenile crime accounts for less than one per cent of total cases, while India has nearly 3–3.5 crore children in need of care, far exceeding the institutional capacity of about two lakh, with adoptions limited to 3,000–3,500 annually and foster care and sponsorship still weak. Raturi added that while adolescence is a complex developmental phase, the 2015 amendment to the Juvenile Justice Act allows 16–18-year-olds involved in heinous crimes to be assessed for mental and physical maturity, noting that most such cases arise from deeply deprived socio-economic backgrounds.
Faith, fraud and belief systems were explored in depth in “Gold, God and Gurus: The Sinister Cult of Faith and Fraud,” featuring former Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar and actress Tridha Choudhury. Kumar said that law enforcement agencies across the country have uncovered and documented a wide range of criminal activities operating under the cover of faith, including financial exploitation and abuse of followers. He clarified, however, that this does not imply that all spiritual institutions are fraudulent, stressing the need to clearly distinguish between genuine faith and organised deception.
