Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): In the past two years, the cyber fraudsters siphoned off Rs 137 crore from people’s accounts in the state, the government informed the Assembly, in a written reply to a question here on Tuesday.
MLA Pratap Grawal had sought details of the digital arrests and cyber cheating cases reported in the state in the last two years. The House was informed that a total of 27 cases of digital arrests and 965 cases of cyber cheating have been reported during the period.
Earlier, the two cities Indore and Bhopal were on the target of the fraudsters, but now they have extended their activities in other parts of the state, the reply said.
2023: Bhopal, Indore under target
In 2023, almost half of the cyber fraud cases were reported from Indore and Bhopal. In the year 444 cheating cases were reported from which 237 were from these two cities, while Bhopal reported 184 cases, 53 cases were from Indore. Around Rs 44.30 crore were siphoned off, the police were able to recover Rs 8.71 crore from the fraudsters. The police have arrested 237 accused in connection with the cases.
2024: Crooks’ activities shift to other cities
In the current year, 521 cases have been reported so far. The cyber crooks have shifted their focus to other cities as well besides Indore and Bhopal. The year saw a maximum 141 cases coming from Indore, followed by Jabalpur 94, Bhopal 77 and Ujjain 44 cases. The fraudsters had siphoned off more than Rs 93.60 crore and of which police have been able to recover Rs 8.55 crore. The police have also arrested 234 accused in the case.
