Akshay Kumar warns of online predators after daughter’s gaming scare

During the launch of Cyber Awareness Month 2025 at the State Police Headquarters in Mumbai on October 3, 2025, Bollywood star Akshay Kumar, husband of author‑actress Twinkle Khanna, disclosed a disturbing incident involving his 13‑year‑old daughter Nitara Kumar. The ceremony, graced by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, turned personal when Kumar used the platform to warn parents about the growing menace of cybercrime targeting children.

Background: a surge in child‑focused cyber threats

India’s National Crime Records Bureau logged a 27 % jump in reported cases of online sexual exploitation of minors between 2022 and 2024. Experts say the rise is tied to the explosion of free‑to‑play games that let strangers chat in real time. A recent study by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) found that 42 % of Indian teenagers have encountered unsolicited sexual content while gaming.

These numbers have pushed state governments to treat digital safety as a public‑health issue. Maharashtra, home to more than 130 million residents, announced in June 2025 that its police force would create a dedicated Cyber Child Protection Unit, headed by the Director General of Police. The unit, first mentioned by Maharashtra Police, plans to collaborate with schools, NGOs, and tech firms.

The personal story: a gaming session gone wrong

According to Kumar, the incident happened a few months earlier when Nitara logged into a popular battle‑royale game that allows voice‑less text chats. She initially received friendly messages—"thank you," "well played," "fantastic"—from an anonymous player. The tone shifted after the stranger asked, "Are you male or female?" Nitara replied, "female," and within seconds a new message appeared: "Can you send me nude pictures of yours?"

“She shut the console off instantly and ran to her mother,” Kumar said during his speech. Twinkle Khanna, who heard the story straight from her daughter, called the request "the kind of thing that can snowball into blackmail or worse".

Police records show that similar approaches have led to the collection of thousands of illicit images, later used to extort victims or sold on hidden forums. The fact that Nitara recognized the danger and reported it immediately likely prevented a far graver outcome.

Official response: policy calls and police initiatives

Chief Minister Fadnavis, standing beside the Director General of Police, pledged "a swift, statewide curriculum on digital hygiene." Kumar seized the moment to propose a concrete plan: a weekly "cyber period" for students in standards seven through ten, where trained educators would cover topics ranging from password safety to recognizing grooming tactics.

"Every school in Maharashtra should allocate at least one hour a week to this,” the chief minister affirmed, adding that the state would allocate ₹2.3 million per district for training teachers and developing age‑appropriate modules.

The DGP also announced the rollout of a real‑time monitoring dashboard for schools, linking incident reports directly to the cyber‑crime cell. Under the new protocol, any suspicious online interaction reported by a student must be logged within 24 hours, triggering an immediate investigation.

Expert analysis: why education matters more than policing alone

Dr. Meera Sinha, a child‑psychology professor at the University of Mumbai, explained that "pre‑emptive education reduces the emotional shock children feel when encountering predators". She cited a 2023 pilot program in Pune where schools introduced a month‑long digital‑safety module; incidents of grooming reports fell by 18 % the following year.

Cyber‑security specialist Arjun Patel of the Indian Cyber Alliance warned that relying solely on law‑enforcement is insufficient. "Predators adapt faster than statutes," Patel said. "We need a layered defense: awareness at home, curricula in school, and rapid response teams in police departments."

Meanwhile, gaming platforms themselves face pressure. The International Game Developers Association announced in September 2025 that it would pilot an AI‑driven chat‑filter across 20 popular titles, aiming to flag sexual solicitation in real time.

What’s next: upcoming measures in Maharashtra

• By December 2025, the state will pilot the weekly cyber‑period in 150 government schools.
• A mobile app, "SafePlay", developed by the Maharashtra Police, will allow parents to monitor a child’s gaming activity with consent.
• The DGP’s cyber‑child unit will launch a public hotline on October 15, 2025, dedicated to reports from minors.
• Nationally, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is set to release a unified curriculum on online safety for grades 6‑12 by March 2026.

The combination of celebrity advocacy, government action, and tech‑industry cooperation could turn the tide against a threat that, as Kumar put it, “is becoming bigger than street crime.”