Hyderabad: While the rise in cybercrime is evident, the detection rate has stayed low. According to the data from the Telangana Cyber Security Bureau, 1,37,253 complaints were registered in Telangana from May 1, 2023, to August 7, 2024.
In these, the police arrested 1,369 accused, which amounts to about one per cent.
According to the data, authorities froze Rs 244,62,11,126 (over Rs 266 crore) in the same period. The complainants could receive Rs 97,18,12,876, or about 39.7 per cent of the money lost.
Asked about the small number of arrests and recoveries, Shikha Goel, director of the Cybersecurity Bureau, explained: “The process of refund has been speeded up. Since March 2024, we have started to take the help of the Lok Adalat. Earlier, we would first approach the court concerned, following which, an order would be issued to the magistrate and then the bank, and then the money would be refunded.”
She said that until March, the money refunded was very low. “After the establishment of the Lok Adalats, the refund amount has grown. The money frozen is still under process for refund.”
The police established that there were 1,03,016 crime links across India, with 25,864 in Telangana, or 25 per cent. These crime links belong to the accused who have been arrested.
Shikha Goel said, “Most of these cybercrimes are money-related frauds, that can be done from anywhere. This makes it difficult to catch the accused. But there have been times where the bureau has even caught hold of accused from Dubai too when they were here.”
Of the 1,369 persons held, 836 were arrested directly, and 533 after issuing notice under Section 41(A) of the CrPC.
KEY NUMBERS
(From March 1, 2023 to Aug. 7, 2024)
Amount frozen: Rs 244,62,11,126
Amount returned: Rs 97,18,12,876
Success rate: 39.7%
Arrests made: 1,369
Directly arrested: 61.1%
Held under CrPc 41(A): 38.9%
- NCRB and TG Cyber Security Bureau.
