A recent report obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act reveals that only around 2% of the total 22,57,808 cybercrime complaints received from all states and Union Territories resulted in First Information Reports (FIRs). These complaints were reported on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal between January 2020 to May 2023.

The National Cybercrime Reporting Portal is an initiative of the Government of India that facilitates the victims or the complainants in reporting cyber crime complaints online, anonymously. It comes within the ambit of Ministry of Home Affairs.

It registers complaints pertaining to online Child Pornography (CP), Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), sexually explicit content such as Rape/Gang Rape (CP/RGR) content and other cyber frauds such as online financial frauds, ransomware, hacking, cryptocurrency crimes and online cyber trafficking.

However, an RTI filed by Jeetendra Ghadge, founder of the Young Whistleblowers Foundation, highlights the limited effectiveness of the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal. Speaking to BOOM, Ghadge said, "The portal makes it easy to register a complaint for citizens across the country. However, the lack of FIR registrations by state governments renders its purpose limited."

The key takeaways from the RTI report

While the portal is an important conduit for reporting cybercrime, it mostly functions as a mediator, referring complaints to the respective police apparatus of the states and union territories for appropriate action. However, the states have only registered 43,022 FIRs, accounting for only 1.9% of total complaints received.

A total of 1,58,190 complaints have been received in relation to online child pornography. Unfortunately, the states have only lodged only 154 FIRs, representing a dismal 0.09%. Among the states, West Bengal has the most complaints in this category, with 67,082 incidents, followed by Tamil Nadu (12,785 cases) and Maharashtra (10,878 cases). However, these three states have registered a disappointingly low number of FIRs, with 13, 3, and 9 cases respectively.

Out of the 20,99,618 reported complaints of cyber fraud, only 42,868 FIRs, have been registered by the police, accounting for a mere 2%. Uttar Pradesh leads with the highest number of cyber fraud cases, recording 3,84,942 complaints, followed by Delhi with 2,16,739 complaints, and Maharashtra with 1,95,409 complaints. Unfortunately, the registration of FIRs remains below 2% in each of these states.

In light of the abysmal scenario, Telangana stands as an exception, with the state successfully registering the highest number of FIRs, totaling 17%.

According to Ghadge, "In light of rapid technological advancements and changing crime patterns, it is imperative for both the central and state governments to collaborate on a solution to combat the growing menace of cybercrimes. Particular attention needs to be given to addressing financial frauds, where vulnerable individuals are losing their hard-earned money."

Why is India lagging in curtailing cybercrimes?

Although the Indian government has been taking cyber security initiatives to create awareness, maintain a cyber-secure environment and mitigate the risks associated with such threats, there's a need for more aggressive measures to curtail the exponential rise of cybercrimes. BOOM spoke to experts who told us the probable reasons why India could be lagging in this domain.

Need for overhaul- Ghadge explained how it is extremely difficult to track cybercriminals once they have absconded after committing the crime. "It is very difficult to track cybercriminals as they might be using somebody else's Wi-fi on somebody else's mobile phone to trick someone. Moreover, the conventional evidences like witnesses or fingerprints do not work in these cases, but the court of law mandates that," he said. Therefore, we need to update our lPC (Indian Penal Code) and CrPC (Criminal Procedure Code) in accordance to such crimes in order to see more convictions in cybercrimes cases. 

Impunity of intermediaries- Speaking to BOOM, cyber expert Ritesh Bhatia said that more than awareness, our focus should be preparedness. "The advent of digitalisation gave us the perk of transferring money at any time, day or night, but there is no grievance redressal for the same available 24X7. If the intermediaries, which are banks in this case, coordinate with each other timely and freeze the transfer of money which has been duped, we would have a much efficient system in place." According to Bhatia, if a proper redressal system from bank's end is not in place beyond 5PM or on weekends, then the facility to transfer the money during those hours should also be prohibited.

Lack of manpower- According to Bhatia, the police may have the intent to stop the crime but they are helpless as they lack in number. "The cybercriminals now function with an intricate nexus which is spread across states. As soon as they get the money, they withdraw it and distribute it among themselves before police catches them. A lot of time goes in coordinating with other state police and in travelling in order to nab the criminals on ground." 

Ghadge also pointed out that the number of police in India is not at par with the overwhelming number of cybercrime cases which we get on a daily basis nowadays. "Their attention goes to other important cases which are likely to see convictions, as compared to the cybercrime cases where probability of nabbing the criminals is very thin."