New Delhi: Nearly 54 lakh cybercrime complaints were filed across India over six years, but police registered FIRs in just 2.4 per cent of the cases, according
to a report by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs.
Data cited in the report showed that 53.93 lakh complaints were registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal between 2019 and November 28, 2024. However, only around 1.30 lakh FIRs were filed during the period.
The complaints involved financial losses of nearly Rs 31,594 crore. About 85 per cent of the complaints were linked to cyber financial fraud, according to a report by Dainik Bhaskar
Complaints rise sharply
The number of cybercrime complaints rose from 26,049 in 2019 to 20,33,316 in 2024, an increase of nearly 78 times. However, the proportion of complaints converted into FIRs fell from about 4 per cent in 2019 to 2.4 per cent in 2024. The portal recorded 49,582 FIRs against more than 20 lakh complaints in 2024 until November 28.
During the first 332 days of 2024, authorities received an average of 6,124 cybercrime complaints every day. In comparison, only about 149 FIRs were registered daily. The committee expressed concern that weaknesses in policing and flawed data-collection methods were keeping a large number of crimes out of official records, according to the report.
Offences go unrecorded
The panel also questioned the National Crime Records Bureau’s “principal offence rule”. Under the system, only the most serious offence in a case may be counted in certain crime statistics. For example, if a woman is abducted and robbed before a video of the crime is leaked online, the incident may be recorded primarily as kidnapping. The associated robbery, cybercrime and offence against a woman may not be counted separately, leaving secondary crimes outside the national data.
Delays weaken planning
The report said some State Crime Records Bureaus take between 18 months and two years to submit data to the Centre. It flagged significant procedural delays in West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Assam and Rajasthan.
As a result, decisions on police reforms, security budgets, CCTV coverage and deployment of personnel may be based on outdated or incomplete figures. The committee said under-reporting could also prevent areas with high crime levels from receiving adequate police stations and security resources.
