Haryana to station cybercrime units in Jharkhand, WB

Haryana Police have stationed teams in Jharkhand and West Bengal to counter cybercrime, as these states are identified as primary sources of cyber fraud calls. Multiple teams have been deployed to identify gang members who dupe people from Haryana, resulting in nearly 50 arrests in the last month. Haryana Police receives around 1,200 calls of cyber fraud daily, and efforts are being made to block bank accounts and freeze SIM cards used by suspects. The police have noted a 20-30% reduction in cybercrime in the last two months.

In a bid to counter the menace of cybercrime, Haryana Police have stationed their teams in Jharkhand and West Bengal, as they have identified these two states as primary sources of cyber fraud calls, said Shatrujeet Singh Kapur, director general of police (DGP), Haryana, during a review of the law-and-order situation in Gurgaon, on Friday.

The Haryana DGP (right) at a press conference. (Parveen Kumar)

Multiple teams comprising cybercrime police personnel and officers — from Gurugram and Faridabad districts that have reported maximum such cases — were deployed in West Bengal and Jharkhand last month, to identify gang members who allegedly dupe people from Haryana.

“Jharkhand and West Bengal have been identified as the primary sources of cyber fraud calls targeting residents of Gurugram, Faridabad, and other districts in Haryana. Most calls to dupe people were made from these two states,” said Kapur. This deployment, police said, has led to a nearly 50 arrests in the last one month.

Kapur said that the decision was taken to ensure quick and swift resolution of the complaints.

“The teams we have sent coordinate with the local police and seek their support to identify gangs that are involved in cases of cyber fraud. Our teams there keep a check on the suspects based on technical surveillance of the phone numbers used to make calls. Raids are also planned and conducted with the help of the local police,” said the DGP.

He further added that the Gurugram and Faridabad police teams conduct reconnaissance of the suspected areas in plain clothes. “The teams are rotated fortnightly to ensure sustained efforts against cyber fraud,” said the DGP.

Kapur said Haryana Police receives around 1,200 calls of cyber fraud daily, of which money transaction takes place in about 220-250 cases.

“We are coordinating with nodal officers of seven banks to ensure that money doesn’t get transferred in such cases. Efforts are also being made to ensure that bank accounts of these fraudsters, who are mostly from West Bengal and Jharkhand, are blocked on time,” said the DGP.

He said that they are working with nodal officers of at least four banks in Panchkula so that the accounts being used by the suspects can be frozen soon after any victim alerts the police by calling on 1930 or contacting the 112 call centre.

Apart from this, Kapur said that Haryana Police are coordinating with four big telecom companies so that their executves are available in real-time to block SIM cards used by suspects, immediately after a cybercrime is reported on the call centre.

“In the last three-four months, we have had several rounds of meetings with the governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), its regional governor in Chandigarh, the Union ministry of home affairs, and the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre for a crackdown on cybercrime. We have been able to increase bank account blocking rate by three times and have noted a 20%-30% reduction in such crimes in the last two months. We are now observing if this reduction continues to hold,” the police officer said.

Kapur added that the number of staff deployed on the cyber helpline number, 1930, has been doubled to 25 to expedite the resolution of complaints.

“Cyber criminals are using new methods to cheat people online. In such a situation, teams are conducting investigations and writing to banks and telecom providers to ensure they get the updates and deactivate the numbers being used by them. The number of awareness campaigns on cyber security have been increased so that people do not share personal information related to bank accounts with anyone,” Kapur said.