According to police records, 451 cases of cyber stalking, which includes cyber bullying of women and children, were registered in the last year; of this, only 285 cases were detected.
Cyber frauds and cases of online stalking have topped the charts as far as cyber crimes registered across Maharashtra in 2018 are concerned. However, the detection rate in the same time period has been found to be quite low. In 2018, a whopping 1,096 cases of cyber fraud were registered with the police; out of this number, only 128 cases were detected. According to police records, 451 cases of cyber stalking, which includes cyber bullying of women and children, were registered in the last year; of this, only 285 cases were detected.
The data shared by the Maharashtra Cyber Cell reveals that the number of cyber crime cases registered across the state have seen a two-fold increase in the last five years. While 1,879 cases were reported in 2014, over 3,233 cases were registered last year. According to the figures, the numbers do fluctuate annually but the number of cases are only increasing with an extremely low rate of detection and due to this, cases only keep piling up. In terms of detection, out of a total of 3,233 cyber crime cases in 2018, the police have been able to crack only 994 of them. In 2017, the disparity was even more concerning as out of 4,035 registered cases, only 1,041 were detected and only 1,367 of the accused were arrested.
"We have to admit that out of a total of 13,722 registered cases — if compiled over the last four years — the detection rate is as low as 4,389; this requires a serious piece of thought. Cases of all sorts come to the cyber cell, be it under the Information Technology Act, Indian Penal Code, or under Special Laws. Currently, there is a need to balance the ratio of detection along with the ratio of conviction for better efficiency in the state's cyber cell," a police officer said on the condition of anonymity.
Cyber expert Prashant Mali said that the rising number of cyber crimes and low detection is due to the untrained police staff in the cyber cell, who fail to understand the technicality of such cases. "Those having scientific and technical knowledge of cyber crimes are deputed for handling law and order situations. There is also an absence of specific cyber cell cadres. The cyber police also need to take cognisance of even a small fraud as this will help others to come forward and report their matter to the police," Mali added.
Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner of Police, cyber cell, Vishal Thakur said, "We are facing a backlog of cases. In case of cyber crimes, tracking down the accused is the main challenge as he plays his game through a virtual world. The cyber cell of each police station is one of our many attempts to tackle the issue and we can say that our workforce is well-equipped and works through a proper and well-designed infrastructure."
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"We have to admit that out of a total of 13,722 registered cases — if compiled over the last four years — the detection rate is as low as 4,389; this requires a serious piece of thought. Cases of all sorts come to the cyber cell, be it under the Information Technology Act, Indian Penal Code, or under Special Laws. Currently, there is a need to balance the ratio of detection along with the ratio of conviction for better efficiency in the state's cyber cell," a police officer said on the condition of anonymity.
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