Karnataka State Police is preparing to introduce an e-zero FIR system for cybercrime complaints, aiming to speed up action against online fraud and help banks freeze money laundering accounts in real time. The new feature is expected to strengthen the state’s cybercrime response while ensuring complaints follow the required legal process.
Under the new system, victims who report cybercrime through the 1930 helpline will have to visit the jurisdictional police station within 3 days to complete the FIR registration process. If they fail to do so, the complaint will be closed.
The initiative builds on the Cybercrime Incidence Report (CIR) model introduced by Bengaluru City Police, which later became the basis for the nationwide 1930 cybercrime helpline. However, freezing bank accounts based only on CIR reports has created challenges. Many banks require an FIR before taking action, while police have often frozen bank accounts outside their jurisdiction, including genuine business accounts, leading to an increase in legal disputes.
A senior cybercrime police official explained that in investment fraud cases, victims are often paid initial profits using money taken from other victims. As police from different jurisdictions freeze these accounts, even victims’ bank accounts can become affected.
Justice Suraj Govindaraj of the High Court of Karnataka recently highlighted these concerns in 2 separate judgments and appointed Pronab Mohanty, Director-General of Police (Cyber Command), as the nodal officer to address the issue.
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has recommended the introduction of e-zero FIRs, and Karnataka Police officials said the required infrastructure is in the final stages of implementation.
Under the proposed system, details received through the 1930 helpline will be entered into both the Karnataka Police IT Portal and the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal. This will automatically generate an e-zero FIR. If the financial loss is below a threshold that is yet to be decided, the complaint will be recorded on the e-lost platform instead of generating an FIR. If the amount exceeds the threshold, a zero FIR will be created.
If the crime falls outside Karnataka, the case will be transferred to the concerned state. Cases within Karnataka will be forwarded to the relevant police station, where victims must appear within 3 days to register a regular FIR.
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