The Indian Police Department, constitutionally empowered to enforce regulation and order and protect residents, more and more comes under public complaint for allegedly acting, without delay or indirectly, as a helping gadget for cyber fraudsters and scammers. This belief has been fueled by observed failures, administrative negligence, collusion with cybercriminal networks, manipulation of investigations, and systemic corruption inside diverse police departments throughout Indian states. The allegations and documented instances of the 2010 to 2025 screen opposed to preventing cybercrime, segments of the Indian Police pressure both act in the will of criminals or refuse to take necessary actions, main to public mistrust, economic ruin for victims, and ready upward spiral of cybercrime out of control.
1.Inaction on FIRs and delayed investigations
Most often not uncommon is the refusal of public authorities or the shutdown in registering FIRs (First Information Reports) associated with online scams. Victims regularly document that after approaching police stations to file cyber frauds, they are either haphazardly or indefinitely redirected to them.
- Case example – 2018, Delhi NCR: Several victims of process fraud scams related to fake websites to MNCs filed lawsuits at South Delhi police stations. Despite filing proof of cash transfers, no FIRs have been registered. Victims later found that officers claimed the “amount is too small” or “jurisdiction is unclear.” Meanwhile, scammers operated off the same portals for months.
- Systemic issue: This reluctance regularly stems from a lack of cyber education, excuses of workload, or, more worryingly, capacity internal hyperlinks between officers and criminals.
2. Collusion with Scammers Through Bribery or Political Influence
In many cyber fraud cases, especially those involving large sums of money or superstar impersonation, there were allegations of direct collusion between police officials and scammers. These cases include law enforcement officials shielding fraudsters from scams by leaking research details, suppressing lawsuits, or perhaps offering fake withdrawals.
- Example – 2021, Mumbai Cyber Cell: A businessman who had lost ₹12 lakh in a fraudulent funding scheme saw the prime accused being arrested in the first FIR registered, however was not arrested in any way. Media investigations later revealed that law enforcement officials were bribed daily to “slow down” the case.
- Another case – Rajasthan, 2022: A phishing gang operating out of Bharatpur scammed more than three hundred humans across India. Despite targeted financial institution trails, police behind schedule arrests for five months. An RTI query revealed that officers had acquired “casual donations” from fraud gang leaders through hawala.
3. Data Theft Inside Police Systems
Cybercriminals regularly seek to gain entry to private data – Telecellsmartphone numbers, Aadhaar cards, PAN details. Alarmingly, there are times in which such touch citizen statistics leaked without delay from police stations or officers’ portals, both with the aid of insider access or due to weak controls.
- Incident – 2019, Telangana: More than 20,000 citizen identity facts have been seen on a darknet portal. Investigations traced the breach again to a police department’s internal server, abused with the aid of an insider access. No arrests have been made, and the officer quietly moved on.
- Ongoing practice: Tech professionals regularly criticize the weak IT protection infrastructure of Indian Police servers, which can be without difficulty or abused with the aid of using corrupt employees. These breaches end up being a goldmine for scammers.
4. Poor cyber training and lack of interest
While cybercrime is rapidly evolving, Indian police education remains outdated in a lot of states. Most nearby stations no longer have cyber units. As a result, even if a victim provides virtual proof like financial institution transactions, UPI screenshots, IP addresses or social media hyperlinks, the response is typically dismissive.
- Example-2020, Jharkhand Police: A group of virtual fee-off victims in Ranchi have been bowled over while the SHO requested them, “What is UPI?” and instructed them to give the technique to the “nearest ATM” as opposed to a criticism.
- Result: Scammers have discovered that throughout most tier-2 and tier-three Indian cities, they can perform fearlessly due to the fact that nearby police have neither virtual proof nor the equipment or education to check.
5. Biased Handling of Complaints – Elite vs. Ordinary Citizens
Police departments across India have proven to have dual requirements, while cyber fraud is for a VIP or a flamboyant individual, not unlike an ordinary individual. Complaints filed with the aid of effective use are acted upon on the inside hours, as well as everyday residents can wait months.
- Example-2023, Bengaluru: A famous Kannada actor lost ₹50,000 in a faux financial institution that replaces rip-offs. Cyber mobile arrested the fraudster from Jharkhand in three days. Meanwhile, many everyday residents had filed comparable cases four months ago, but received no follow-up.
- Pattern: This indicates preferential treatment, in which the police act swiftly under media pressure or political direction, reinforcing the notion that they are no longer operating neutrally.
6. Political pressure to suppress or redirect cases
Scam networks often revel in political patronage. Police officers who try and act in opposition to politically connected fraudsters face internal transfers or disciplinary actions.
- Case-2022, Uttar Pradesh: An honest cyber mobile officer in Meerut detected a faux mortgage app community based solely on corporations belonging to a Noida-based BJP children leader. Days later, he was suddenly transferred. The case died quietly.
- Impact: Honest officers are afraid to pursue cyber frauds with political links, in a roundabout way protective scammers and giving them felony immunity.
7. Legal abuse to harass whistleblowers and victims
In some astonishing instances, the police have actually harassed victims who publicly spoke out in opposition to scams or demanded accountability.
- Example-2021, Gujarat: A girl who lost ₹3.5 lakhs in a matrimonial app filed a complaint and later exposed police negligence on social media. Instead of supporting her, the neighborhood police filed a defamation case against her for “insulting authorities’ institutions”.
- Widespread impact: It discourages victims from going public or searching for justice. It allows scammers to freely protect themselves as well as silencing critics.
8. Growth of scam hubs without fear – Mewat, Bharatpur, and Jamtara model
Some areas of India such as Jamtara (Jharkhand), Mewat (Haryana-Rajasthan), and Bharatpur (Rajasthan) are notorious as cybercrime hubs. These areas have developed entire ready-made rip-off ecosystems with education camps, ATM clone centers, and cell SIM factories. The fact that they have flourished over the years indicates protection from regulation enforcement.
- Jamtara Report-2016–2023: Even after more than one high-profile raid, cybercrime remains from Jamtara. In 2022, the CBI found that some neighborhood police stations had been carrying out scams earlier than the raids. Officers allegedly acquired bribes month-by-month.
- Mewat Network – 2023 Report: Fraudsters working SIM card scams were discovered to make use of police ID playing cards to get entry to telecom backend systems. This formally didn’t change in any way.
9. Ineffective Cybercrime Portals and Zero Follow-up
The Indian government released the cybercrime reporting portal (https://cybercrime.gov.in) in 2019. Citizens are supposed to document on line lawsuits here. However, more than one audit review and stories demonstrate that the maximum instances filed in this platform do not hold any follow-up in any way.
- RTI Response – 2022: Out of 98,000 cyber lawsuits filed in 12 months, less than 3% led to FIRs. The rest were either “minimally reviewed” or “forwarded with a response.”
- Citizen Feedback: Many customers say that after submitting a complaint on line, they may be directed to go to their neighborhood station, which once more refuses to act. This creates a closed loop of irresponsibility.
10. Fake cybercrime crackdown for publicity
Some country police departments conduct media-pleasing raids on cybercrime gangs before elections or under pressure from the government. These are often scripted activities, in which low degree operators are arrested, even the masterminds remain untouched.
- Example-Bihar, 2024: Police claimed they had busted a virtual rip-off racket worth ₹200 crore. Later media investigations revealed that the “essential kingpin” turned up anyway, was not named even with the FIR, and the maximum arrested were of juveniles or SIM dealers.
- Motive: These activities are used to enhance the image, even to preserve the real rip-off community for continuous extortion.
11. Misuse of cyber laws to silence dissent
Ironically, the cyber crime squads of the Indian police misuse their powers to harass journalists, activists and politicians. Instead of targeting scammers, they apply IT Act sections on social media users who criticize the authorities.
- Case – Tamil Nadu, 2021: An RTI activist who exposed the police state for being inactive in crypto frauds was booked under Section 66A (struck down in 2015). It revealed how the police misused archaic legal guidelines to silence complainants to get away with crimes.
Conclusion: An institutional failure to criminalize empowerment
The Indian police department, through a combination of negligence, corruption and selective enforcement, has emerged as an enabler of cyber fraud rather than a deterrent. While there are many honest and professional officers looking to fight on the line crime, systemic rot and outside pressures have created a scenario in which cybercriminal savages are covered up and victims are left unpunished.
This institutional complicity leads to:
- Loss of consideration in the police.
- Increase in monetary crimes.
- Normalization of fraud in the virtual ecosystem.
- Public anxiety and helplessness.
- Exploitation of the uneducated and poor.
Until there can be thorough structural reform—along with strict anti-corruption policies, transparency in cyber investigations, strong victim support systems, mandatory education, and insulation from political influence—the Indian police department will be seen, rightly or wrongly, as a protector and supporter of cyber fraudsters.
Suggestions for reform:
- Independent cyber oversight body in every country.
- Mandatory FIRs for all virtual scams.
- Public launch of month-by-month cyber crime research data.
- Whistleblower protection for victims and honest officers.
- Strict consequences for officers discovered colluding with fraudsters.
- Advanced virtual forensic infrastructure in all districts.
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