Inder Vasishtha/ New Delhi
Now in Delhi, complaints related to financial loss of more than Rs 10 lakh on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) and Helpline 1930 will be automatically registered as Zero FIR in the e-crime police station of Delhi Police. It will be immediately forwarded to the concerned regional cyber crime police stations. Complainants can convert the Zero FIR into a regular FIR by visiting the cyber crime police station within 3 days.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) of the Home Ministry has launched a new e-Zero FIR initiative to nab criminals at an unprecedented speed. This new system, launched as a pilot project for Delhi, will automatically convert cyber financial crimes reported on NCRP or 1930 into FIRs, initially for limits above Rs 10 lakh. The new system will expedite investigations, leading to crackdown on cyber criminals, and will soon be expanded across the country.
Delhi Police and Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre have worked together to establish a process for registration of cases as per the new provisions of Section 173(1) and 1(ii) of the Indian Civil Defence Code. The process of issuing e-Zero FIRs electronically irrespective of police station area jurisdiction will initially start as a pilot project in Delhi. It will be later rolled out in other states and Union Territories. Delhi’s e-Crime Police Station has been notified to register e-Zero FIRs for cyber crime complaints of specific nature lodged on NCRP and transfer them to regional police stations.
Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah, in a recent review meeting of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, had directed to implement this initiative keeping in view the difficulties faced by the victims of cyber financial crimes in recovering their lost money.
The National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal and National Cyber Crime Helpline 1930 have enabled easy reporting and prompt action on complaints related to cyber financial crimes. This new process involves the integration of the NCRP system of I4C, e-FIR system of Delhi Police and Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
This initiative will improve the process of converting NCRP/1930 complaints into FIRs, thereby facilitating easy recovery of lost money by victims and facilitating punitive action against cyber criminals. It leverages the provisions of the new criminal laws that have been recently enacted.