Lucknow, Jul 30 (PTI) The Uttar Pradesh police chief on Wednesday announced a series of reforms in the state’s cybercrime response, one of which was the removal of the Rs 5 lakh threshold for filing FIRs in online fraud cases.
Director General of Police Rajeev Krishna revealed the changes during the inauguration of a call centre here for the National Cybercrime Helpline Number 1930. The call centre has been set up at Kalli Paschim under the DCP South office and replaces the earlier 20-seat facility at the UP 112 headquarters. The new facility will have 30 lines and give round-the-clock assistance to victims of financial cybercrimes. A total of 94 police personnel, from constables to inspectors, have been deployed here, with 50 callers to work in shifts. Krishna told reporters that complaints received at the call centre will reflect in real-time on the platforms of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), the Cyber Crime Headquarters, and district police units. The DGP also said that the former practice of registering an FIR only in cyber frauds involving over Rs 5 lakh has been discontinued. With the establishment of 57 new cyber police stations in 2023, all forms of online fraud, regardless of the amount involved, will be investigated, he said. In addition, the state police have written to the government proposing an amendment to the IT Act that would empower sub-inspectors to investigate cyber offences. “At present, only inspectors are authorised to conduct such investigations, often resulting in delays in FIR registration and case disposal,” he said. Another key proposal is to allow victims to reclaim money frozen during the investigation of online fraud without having to file an FIR. The officer said, “The proposal has been submitted to the state government and is currently under review in the Allahabad High Court. If accepted, this would allow police to release blocked funds based on a simple application from the victim.” He said that now each of the seven zonal police headquarters in the state will have a designated cyber expert, referred to as a ‘Cyber Commando.’ “These officers will assist in cyber investigations across their respective zones. Fifteen such officers have already completed a specialised six-month course offered by the I4C in collaboration with national institutions.
“… the police will soon establish a three-tier Cyber Investigation and Digital Assistance Lab at the headquarters, range, and district levels to ensure effective technical support for investigations,” the top state police officer said. All commissionerates and districts will now have ASP and DCP rank officers as nodal officers for cybercrime, he said. To stay ahead of the curve, more than 11,600 police personnel have already earned more than 38,000 certificates via the CyTrain portal of I4C, he said. One of the proposals was to observe the first Wednesday of the month as Cyber Awareness Day, during which the police will reach out to gram panchayats, municipal bodies, and NGOs. PTI KIS VN VN
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