On October 11, 2024, then Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis (now Chief Minister) inaugurated the state-of-the-art Cybercrime Investigation Capability Centre in Navi Mumbai, a mission price Rs 837 crore.
On the occasion, he remarked, “With cyber threats changing into extra superior, it’s crucial that we keep forward with proactive and revolutionary options.” But, this imaginative and prescient of innovation and foresight appears to be at odds with the fact in Mumbai’s police drive, the place the highest brass has appeared dismissive of the rising wave of cyber crime.
This disconnect is starkly evident in the truth that Mumbai’s cyber police division has been with out a full-time deputy commissioner of police (DCP) for a staggering 575 days—18 months and 25 days, as of December 23, 2024.
Regardless of quite a few requests from inside the division, the state house division and the Mumbai police commissioner have did not appoint a full-time DCP for the cyber police division. For the previous 18 months, numerous DCPs from town’s crime department have briefly held further accountability for overseeing the cyber crime unit. The final full-time DCP of the division, Balsingh Rajput, stepped down on Could 29, 2023.
The unseen disaster
Cyber crime circumstances in Mumbai have seen a pointy rise, with circumstances rising by practically 350 per cent prior to now one 12 months with the entire monetary fraud ensuing from such crimes surpassing a staggering Rs 1,200 crore. But the restoration fee for these circumstances stays alarmingly low at simply 11-12 per cent. The failure to deal with the issue proactively is leaving numerous households devastated by monetary loss, and town’s police drive appears to be more and more detached to this rising modern-day menace.
A full-time DCP for the Cyber Police Division is crucial, as this officer oversees the operations of 5 regional cyber police stations throughout Mumbai. These stations deal with delicate and high-value circumstances involving frauds over Rs 10 lakh, making the place essential to the efficient detection, prevention and strategic response to those crimes.
An revolutionary technique for efficient tackling of cyber crime launched by DCP Cyber may be replicated by different zonal DCPs of Mumbai in tackling the menace of this fast-evolving crime, an officer mentioned.
A senior IPS officer from Mumbai Police confirmed that there was no full-time DCP Cyber for over one-and-a-half years. Quite a few inner requests for this place have been ignored, elevating critical issues in regards to the metropolis’s dedication to combating cyber crimes.
As one cyber professional mentioned, “It’s a sorry state of affairs that town’s Cyber Police Division, which is meant to be the nodal physique for detecting and stopping cyber crimes, has been with out a full-time DCP.”
Mumbai police commissioner Vivek Phansalkar, particular commissioner Deven Bharti and Mumbai police PRO DCP Datta Nalawade didn’t reply to cellphone calls and textual content messages in search of their feedback on no appointment of a full-time DCP Cyber for 18 months.
The significance of a full-time DCP Cyber
A devoted full-time DCP Cyber is essential to deal with the quickly evolving nature of cyber crime. A senior officer, who spoke on situation of anonymity, confused the necessity for a devoted chief on this place. “If entrusted with this accountability, a full-time senior officer would concentrate on figuring out key tendencies, analysing their root causes, and formulating long-term options to stop these crimes from escalating,” the officer mentioned.
A everlasting DCP Cyber would additionally collaborate with nationwide and worldwide cyber crime combating businesses, making a complete technique to deal with the theft of private knowledge — a key device utilized by fraudsters to focus on victims. Nonetheless, Mumbai’s Cyber Police Division operates in a reactive method, addressing solely essentially the most high-profile circumstances with out pursuing a broader technique to dismantle organised cyber legal networks working regionally and overseas.
Quick-evolving threats, gradual response
Cyber crime is a fast-evolving menace with new strategies, applied sciences and legal gangs rising often. Mumbai police, nonetheless, is falling behind. By the point they analyse and reply to new cyber crime strategies, the fraudsters would trigger vital hurt. With out a full-time DCP, the division’s capability to coach officers and implement efficient counter measures is severely compromised, a supply within the cyber division mentioned.
One other officer added, “A full-time DCP would make sure that we keep one step forward of criminals. They might often work together with regulation enforcement businesses in different cities and nations, keep up to date on new tendencies, and share intelligence on legal networks, serving to us formulate higher options.”
Sadly, decision-making inside the Cyber Police Division has been delayed as a result of lack of a full-time head. Crucial issues confronted by lower-ranking officers usually go unheard, additional hindering the division’s means to reply swiftly and successfully.
A senior officer from the house division mentioned, “We’re conscious of this and are engaged on it. The extra cost of the DCP Cyber is dealt with by one other DCP and the functioning of the division doesn’t cease.” The officer, nonetheless, didn’t refuse the importance of getting a full-time DCP.
On improve in cyber crime circumstances, the officer claimed that it’s as a result of Mumbai Police are displaying full transparency in recording the circumstances. “In reality, our response is nice in comparison with different businesses within the nation,” the officer mentioned.
Lack of management, assets
The Cyber Police Division can be working with out an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), a place that has been vacant for a number of months. Along with management gaps, the division is affected by a crucial scarcity of manpower, with greater than 40% of positions unfilled. The division is functioning with simply 12 police inspectors, far fewer than the 20 required for efficient operations.
An officer from the division mentioned, “With so many circumstances, officers are overburdened. Many have over 35 circumstances every, which severely limits their means to conduct thorough investigation. Cyber crime isn’t only a statistical problem—it’s a matter of individuals’s lives, their financial savings, and typically, their very future.”
At current, the West Area Cyber Police station is essentially the most overburdened unit, with cyber crime circumstances having surged from 138 FIRs final 12 months to 350 by September 30, 2024. Officers predict the variety of circumstances will exceed 500 by the tip of the 12 months. Regardless of this exponential rise in circumstances, there was no improve in employees or assets to deal with the rising workload.
The monetary toll
One of the crucial disturbing features of this disaster is the shortage of correct knowledge on the monetary toll of cyber crime in Mumbai. Regardless of repeated inquiries underneath the Proper to Info (RTI) Act, town police drive is unable to offer dependable figures on how a lot cash has been misplaced by Mumbaikars in numerous cyber crimes.
In reality, the police division doesn’t even keep a complete report of the quantities concerned in cyber crime circumstances reported at native police stations. Solely 5 out of 99 police stations monitor this data, and the police headquarters has no system to gather it for metropolis.
A senior police officer admitted, “We don’t have any mechanism to trace and analyse the monetary impression of cyber crime. However we’re engaged on it and hope to implement a system quickly.”
Sluggish response
Regardless of the urgency expressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the central authorities in addressing the rising menace of cyber crime, the response on the native degree has been sluggish.
As one cyber police officer put it, “The Prime Minister and the House Ministry are taking cyber crime critically, however the Mumbai Police appear detached. It’s shameful that our metropolis, usually touted as one of many best police forces on the earth, is failing to reply adequately to the cyber threats which might be destroying lives.”
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