Ministry Of Home Affairs Pushes For Dedicated 1930 Cybercrime Call Centre In Bhopal, ₹50 Crore Proposal Awaits Nod

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): With cybercrime cases increasing in the state, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked the Madhya Pradesh cyber police to establish a dedicated 1930 call centre to ensure faster handling of cyber fraud complaints.

The state cyber police have proposed a 180-seater facility at the Cyber Police Headquarters, but the Rs 50 crore proposal is awaiting approval from the state government.

The 1930 helpline is India’s 24/7 national toll-free cybercrime number for reporting financial fraud and online scams. It is operated by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The direction to establish the centre was given during a recent meeting between MHA officials and the cyber police.

Once established, complaints related to Madhya Pradesh received on the national 1930 helpline will come directly to the Cyber Headquarters in Bhopal. The centre will operate round the clock and is expected to speed up action on cyber fraud complaints.

Officials said faster processing would help the police freeze funds involved in cyber fraud cases. A dedicated team will also coordinate with banks to freeze fraudulent transactions and facilitate recovery of money.

Delays eat into golden hour

Currently, after a complaint is registered on 1930, it goes to the national helpline and the team there contacts the Madhya Pradesh police. And thereafter, the follow-up at the regional and local level is carried out and the local police contact the victims.

This process consumes a lot of time and resources. And the golden hour wherein the funds are frozen is lost. In terms of freezing a larger amount of money, Madhya Pradesh was ranked 22nd in 2024, but has moved up to 6th place in 2025.

1930 centre to speed up recovery of frozen funds

Cyber superintendent of police Pranay Nagwanshi told Free Press that the proposal for setting up the call centre has been sent to the government. Work will begin as soon as approval is received.

He added that the call centre will work to help victims recover the funds frozen in banks. According to Nagwanshi, the first two hours in a cyber fraud case are considered the golden hour.

If the victim informs the helpline number during this period, it becomes easier for the police to freeze the fraudulent amount in the banks.

He said the defrauded amount is returned from the banks upon receiving a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the police. In some cases, the amount is returned after a court decision.