Police will also strengthen the State Cyber Police Station and the Cyber Forensics Lab in Panchkula by increasing their staffing and the tools available to them to investigate the cases.
Officials said on Wednesday they will increase the call handling capacity of the state’s dedicated helpline (1930) to report cybercrimes.
The measures are being introduced at a time cybercrimes have become increasingly common. Data shows the highest number of cybercrime complaints were registered in Gurgaon, Faridabad, Sonipat and Hisar between Juny 2022 and 2023.
Over 3.2 lakh complaints were made on the cyber helpline (1908) from across Haryana, of which 77,205 — or almost a quarter — were registered as cases. Among the registered cases, nearly one-fourth (17,913) were from callers in Gurgaon, TOI had reported in July.
The state also launched its largest ever crackdown against cybercrime earlier this year. Haryana Police on April 27 raided 300 spots in Nuh and detained 125 suspects, of which 65 were later arrested.
Investigators said this network of fraudsters operated from Nuh, and adjoining districts of Rajasthan and UP — an area now known as the ‘new Jamtara’, named after the Jharkhand town famous for cybercrimes.
“With an understanding of the intricate nuances that the digital age demands, the police department is making concerted efforts to streamline and bolster its cybercrime initiatives,” DGP Shatrujeet Kapoor said.
The coordination centre, police said, will act as the nodal point to oversee investigations. It will help identify trends and patterns in cybercrimes, and act as a warning system to prevent and trace miscreants.
Additionally, police will come up with standard operating procedures (SOPs) for probing cybercrimes in the state.
“Cybercrime cases are registered at territorial police stations and cyber stations, so it is important to have SOPs. Efforts are underway to develop and recommend policies tailored to address the challenges posed by cybersecurity, digital threats and cybercrimes,” the DGP said.
The focus will be on training cops on online threats, defensive methodologies and investigative techniques.
Haryana Police will collaborate with other states and international agencies to learn about cybercrimes and the methods to thwart it. Awareness campaigns to ensure online users don’t fall for online frauds will be scaled up too.
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