Published on December 13, 2023
Ahmedabad: There have been zero convictions for cybercrimes in Gujarat in the
past three years, according to data tabled in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
Gujarat Police registered 1,283 FIRs for cybercrimes in 2020, 1,536 in 2021 and
1,417 in 2022. In the three years, 3,664 accused were apprehended. However, the
data indicated that there were no cases or convictions.
Gujarat was the only major state among the eight listed with no convictions
during these three years.
The other states listed are Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Sikkim,
Tripura and Uttarakhand. Among the major states, neighbouring Maharashtra
had 81 convictions, Madhya Pradesh had 104, and Rajasthan 212 for 2020, 2021
and 2022 respectively.
The data indicated that of the 1,417 cases of cybercrime recorded in Gujarat in
2022, charge sheet was led in 789. A total of 1,327 persons were arrested, and
1,317 were charge sheeted. Compared to 2021, the year 2022 recorded an 8% drop
in FIRs. However, Gujarat recorded four FIRs daily for cybercrimes, ranging from
online frauds to stalking and harassment.
Among the major states, Gujarat had relatively fewer FIRs. In 2022, Telangana
recorded 15,297 FIRs for cybercrimes, whereas Karnataka recorded 12,556.
Uttar Pradesh was the only third state with more than 10,000 annual FIRs at
10,117. Experts said arrest and conviction are different things; the latter can take a
longer time.
“In some cases, due to multiple reasons ranging from inter-state or international
nature of crime, collecting evidence is an issue. Likewise, lower conviction could
also be due to the method of investigation and the nature of presentation of cases
to the judiciary,” said a cybercrime expert in Ahmedabad.
“Use of forensics is improving and hopefully, we will soon see better conviction
rate. Cybercrime is an ever-evolving discipline with newer tools and technology
employed by criminals. Constant training of investigators is also the need of the
hour.”
Parth Shastri Archive 