From 2021 to 2022, a total of 327 cybercrime cases were registered in Jammu and Kashmir while 178 people were arrested, 142 were chargesheeted, and one conviction was reported under cybercrime laws.
According to data accessed by the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), in 2020, 120 cases were registered while the charge sheet was produced in 14 cases. It added that 33 people were arrested in 2020 while 23 were chargesheeted.
However, 2021 saw a rise in incidents with 154 cases registered and 49 chargesheeted. The number of arrests increased to 102, and 60 people were chargesheeted in the particular year.
In 2022, the region recorded 173 cases, the highest in the three years, with 53 chargesheeted and one convicted. A total of 76 people were arrested, 79 chargesheeted, and one convicted under cybercrime laws in the year.
The government has implemented several measures to combat cybercrime and financial fraud under the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C).
“Launched in 2021, the ‘Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System’ has facilitated the recovery of over ₹3431 crore in more than 9.94 lakh complaints, supported by a toll-free helpline number, 1930, for lodging online cyber complaints,” it said, adding that proactive efforts by I4C have led to the identification and blocking of over 1700 Skype IDs and 59,000 WhatsApp accounts linked to digital fraud.
Also, more than 6.69 lakh SIM cards and 1,32,000 IMEIs have been blocked based on police reports until November 15, 2024.
The Central Government has also issued alerts about blackmail and digital arrest scams conducted by cybercriminals impersonating officials from agencies like NCB, CBI, and RBI. To address the misuse of international spoofed calls masquerading as Indian numbers, a system has been devised in collaboration with telecom service providers (TSPs) to detect and block such calls, which are commonly used in scams like fake digital arrests and impersonations—(KNO)
