Police issue guidelines for investigating cyber fraud e-FIRs involving over Rs 1L

New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Friday issued detailed guidelines on the procedures to be followed for investigating e-FIRs in financial cybercrime cases involving fraudulent transactions of Rs 1 lakh and above.

The guidelines have been issued under the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) initiative launched by the Ministry of Home Affairs earlier this year.

According to a circular issued by Commissioner of Police Satish Golchha, the new framework, effective from November 1, lays down step-by-step procedures for police officers, including registration, investigation, and verification of e-FIRs in cyber fraud cases.

The threshold for automatic e-FIR generation has also been lowered from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 1 lakh in the new guidelines.

Under the revised system, any complaint of financial cyber fraud exceeding Rs 1 lakh received through the Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System (CFCFRMS) portal or the 1930 cyber helpline will automatically generate an e-FIR.

Victims can also approach any police station in Delhi, regardless of jurisdiction, to register a complaint at the Integrated Help Desk (IHD), the circular read. Once an e-FIR is generated, it will automatically be forwarded to the appropriate police station based on the amount involved. For up to Rs 25 lakh, cases will be forwarded to the District Cybercrime Police Station, for an amount between Rs 25 lakh and Rs 50 lakh to the Crime Branch Cyber Cell, and for above 50 lakh to Special Cell’s IFSO Unit.

The circular mandates that investigating officers initiate immediate action after receiving an e-FIR, including lien marking (legal hold), freezing of accounts, collection of CDRs/SDRs, CCTV footage, and other digital evidence, without waiting for the complainant’s signature.

The complainant must then be informed about the e-FIR and asked to visit the police station within 72 hours to sign the printed copy, as per Section 173 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023.

If the complainant fails to appear within the specified time, a notice will be issued, and the e-FIR may be closed as per legal provisions, it said.

The order mandates strict adherence to the new SOPs for faster and uniform handling of cyber fraud cases across Delhi. “Series-2 complaints” registered by citizens on the cybercrime.gov.in portal will not be auto-converted into e-FIRs but verified and registered as regular FIRs in respective police stations after confirming a cognisable offence and

recording statements.