Cyber crime in Mumbai cases go from 25 to 155 in two months

At Andheri police station alone, around 41 FIRs were registered against cyber crimes. Pic /Istock

The suspension of a police inspector for not registering a cyber crime spurred police across the city to register around 155 of the cases in past two months. Before the departmental action, the Mumbai police had registered only 25 cases. The statistics about online FIR details in past two months (May 1 to June 30) that were accessed by mid-day from Maharashtra police's online FIR facility, also suggest that few police stations have been updating the records in Mumbai. The figures will go up if every police station updates the system on a daily basis."

During the first week of March this year a woman approached Kasturba Marg police to register an FIR regarding a debit card related fraud. When there was no response, the complainant reached out to the Joint Commissioner (law and order), who suspended PSI Varsha Gavit who was the duty officer. She had allegedly kept the complaint letter with her for two months instead of forwarding it to the concerned officer.

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"Cyber fraud needs to be addressed with extreme seriousness and should always be taken as a challenge. Most police stations don't register FIRs in cyber crimes as it requires expertise and skill to crack the cases, which sometimes takes a lot of effort and time. In Mumbai the police are burdened with festivals, patrolling, action against traffic violators etc. But cyber crimes need to be addressed separately, because in future they are going to escalate and emerge as a big challenge," a senior IPS officer told mid-day.

After the PSI's suspension, at Andheri police station alone, around 41 FIRs were registered in past two months.

Vinay Choubey, Jt Commissioner (law and order) said they are registering cyber crimes on priority. "We have been getting several complaints from citizens regarding cyber fraud. Complaints are also made to us on Twitter. We have also been doing several initiatives for awareness so that people understand they should not share sensitive information."

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"It's good to know that more and more FIRs are being registered because earlier it would take months to get an FIR registered. This way cops can make the public aware of trending cyber crimes. Cyber criminals are adopting new methods of committing fraud and citizens should know them so that they are well equipped to protect themselves. Many people are not yet aware of the modus operandi behind frauds on matrimonial sites, digital wallets, etc. It's extremely important that cyber cops not only register the FIRs but also inform the public about cyber crimes," said Ritesh Bhatia, a cyber crime investigator.

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