Cyberabad Plans 5 More Cyber Crime Police Stations
A major reason for the surge in cyber crimes is the presence of the IT corridor within the Cyberabad commissionerate, housing several multinational companies and software firms.
Hyderabad: Tackling cyber crime has become increasingly challenging for cyber police due to a sharp rise in cases and a limited number of cyber crime police stations. Cyberabad has recorded the highest number of cyber crime cases, followed by Hyderabad and Rachakonda.
To strengthen its response, the Cyberabad commissionerate plans to set up five additional cyber crime police stations, one in each zone, to enhance prevention, detection and arrests. Currently, the commissionerate operates with just one cyber crime police station.
Last year alone, 11,914 cases were registered in the commissionerate, with victims collectively losing about Rs 8 crore (Rs 7,93,19,92,128). The daily average of reported cyber crime cases stands between 33 and 40, while the arrest and detection rate remains low at just five per cent, according to police sources.
A major reason for the surge in cyber crimes is the presence of the IT corridor within the Cyberabad commissionerate, housing several multinational companies and software firms.
The present cyber crime police station located in Gachibowli handles cases involving fraud amounts exceeding `50,000, while cases below this threshold are dealt with by local law and order police. As a result, the overall recovery rate remains below 30 per cent, and the average arrest rate is approximately five per cent.
Due to the shortage of cyber crime police stations, only 534 fraudsters were arrested in 372 cases in 2024, leading to a decline in detection and apprehension rates.
As the single police station has to tackle over 38 types of cyber fraud, it is resulting in an overwhelming backlog of digital crime cases, said Shankar Mohan, a cyber security expert. He emphasised that cyber crime cases require immediate attention compared to other criminal offences, as timely intervention—referred to as the 'golden minutes'—is crucial for recovering funds, freezing fraudulent transactions, and making arrests.
Senior officials believe that setting up one cyber crime police station per zone could improve detection, arrests, and recovery rates, potentially increasing the recovery rate to 40 per cent.
Cyber Crime Data:
2022: 4,866 cases reported; loss of Rs 5,77,92,43,601
2023: 5,361 cases reported; loss of Rs 5,29,48,87,558
2024: 11,914 cases reported; loss of Rs 7,93,19,92,128