Cyber crime cases in Bengal much lower compared to several other states: Data

Kolkata: The number of cyber crime cases in Bengal from 2020-2022 remained much lower, compared to figures registered in other states like Karnataka, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra during this period.

Bengal registered about 1,626 cybercrime cases in those three years, while Karnataka recorded the highest number of cases at 31,433 followed by Telangana at 30,624; Uttar Pradesh at 30,043 and Maharashtra at 19,307, revealed the data shared by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee among others, raised questions in the Lok Sabha whether there was an increase in cybercrime cases in the country. They had also asked for the state-wise/district-wise details, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh. They also asked

if the Centre identified the deficiencies in the system which are responsible for its failure to curb cybercrime incidents.

In reply to the questions by the MPs, the Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Bandi Sanjay Kumar in a statement provided state-wise data on cybercrime cases.

According to data, around 712 cases were registered in Bengal in 2020 out of which 178 cases have been charge-sheeted. In 2021, Bengal recorded 513 cases out of which 307 have been charge-sheeted. Bengal in 2022 registered 401 cyber crime cases. Karnataka in 2020 registered 10741 cases, 8,136 cases in 2021 and 12,556 in 2022 out of which 2,842, 5,801 and 3,368 cases have been charge-sheeted respectively.

Telangana in 2020 registered 5,024 cases, 10,303 in 2021 and 15,297 in 2022 out of which 939 cases have been charge-sheeted in 2020, 1,361 charge-sheeted in 2021 and 2,393 in 2022. Uttar Pradesh registered 11097 cases in 2020; 8,829 cases in 2021 and 10,117 in 2022 out of which charge sheets were filed in 4,987 cases in 2020; 4,407 cases in 2021 and 4,737 in 2022.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has set up the ‘Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre’ (I4C) as an attached office to deal with all types of cybercrimes in the country, in a coordinated and comprehensive manner, the statement said.

It also said that the ‘Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System’, under I4C, was launched in 2021, for immediate reporting of financial frauds and to stop the siphoning of funds by fraudsters.