New Delhi : Cyber crimes in the country have doubled over the past two years. According to National Crime Records Bureau(NCRB) report, a total of 50,035 were registered in 2020. That figure stood at 27,248 in 2018 and 44,735 in 2019. The cyber crime rate now stands at 3.7 as against 3.3 in 2019. A total of 18,420 persons were arrested i and were subsequently convicted by the court for crimes, a majority of who were men. 13 women too received sentencing.
In Karnataka, cyber crimes accounted for 16.2 percent of the total offences, while in Kerala that rate figured to just 1.2 percent. At 10.1 percent U. P. is in the lead, followed by Maharashtra at 4.8, Meghalaya 4.4 and Odisha 4.2 percent – all of which are way above the national average. Cyber crimes across 19 metropolitan cities figured at 18,657 – a rate of 16.4 percent – an indication of big cities tuning into hotbeds for cyber crimes.
UP On Forefront
BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh is on the forefront of cyber crimes. 22.17 percent of all crimes registered in 2020 originated from UP – a total of 11,097 cases. 872 persons were convicted for extorting women and underage children.
Mostly Scamming
60 percent of the registered cases are perpetrated by scamsters. Of the 30,142 cyber cases registered, 10,395 relate to financial frauds. Online banking fraud numbered to 4097. ATM debit and credit card OTP frauds are rampant. 6.6 percent i.e. 3293 cases relate to some form of sexual exploitation and 578 cases pertain to conning via fake social media accounts while 113 originated from terrorist activities.
Investigations lose trail
With cases mounting, investigations in several states have been rendered slow. There are about 53,157 old cases whose investigations have turned cold. A total of 1,03,988 cases, including those registered this year, are under investigation and only 47.5 percent of them have been chargesheeted so far. Probe has been given up on 13,384 cases for lack of any viable lead. . By contrast, chargesheets have been submitted in 70.6 percent cases in Kerala. Also, while there are 36,236 cases countrywide awaiting conviction, that number for Kerala is just 1026.
