MP News: Pending For Months, Over 50 Cyber Fraud FIRs Registered In 4 Days After MHA’s Strict Stance

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): After months of alleged inaction on cyber fraud complaints, local police stations have suddenly started registering pending e-FIRS following strict directions issued by Union Ministry of Home Affairs, which has recently issued instructions to all states and Union Territories to register cases of cyber crimes.

In the past four days alone, more than 50 FIRs related to cyber frauds have been registered at different police stations in the city with total fraud amounting to Rs 2.25 crore.

Police sources said these complaints were pending for months but were not converted to formal cases at the police station level. Some of the cases are even six months old and in all of them, cyber conmen have used different modus operandi usually online share trading scam, digital arrest and job offers to siphon off huge amount of cash from victims’ accounts.

While cyber crime branch had registered cases in some major frauds, most e-FIRs that were routed to local police stations saw no action. However, after union government’s recent intervention, police officials have taken a strict stance, which has led to a sudden surge in registration of FIRs over the past few days.

Delayed investigations

A cyber fraud victim said after months of delay in converting e-FIRs into formal cases, how much relief victims can expect from the late investigations. Cyber fraudsters frequently change mobile numbers, SIM cards, IP addresses and bank accounts to avoid detection. In many cases, the phone numbers used for fraud are either switched off or permanently deactivated within days of the crime. Similarly, mule bank accounts used to receive the defrauded money are often emptied and closed quickly.

Cyber Help Desks ineffective

Notably, cyber help desks were established in police stations in last one year to assist victims of online fraud. However, only a limited number of cyber crime cases were formally registered at the station level during this period. Sources claimed that these help desks largely handled complaints related to lost or stolen mobile phones with comparatively fewer cyber fraud investigations being pursued.

Inadequate resources

A senior police official, speaking on condition of anonymity said that while FIRs are now being registered, resources for investigation remain inadequate.

The number of cases is high, but manpower and technical resources are limited, the official said. Police stations currently operate cyber help desks that reportedly suffer from a lack of specialised training and insufficient staff, making it challenging to investigate complex financial cyber fraud cases. Even the cyber crime branch is said to be facing manpower shortages and resource constraints.

Published on: Friday, February 20, 2026, 10:00 PM IST