UNION HOME Minister Amit Shah on Monday said they have introduced the new e-Zero FIR that automatically converts cyber financial crime complaints with a cheating value above Rs 10 lakh, registered on the 1930 helpline or the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP), into FIRs.
Shah said the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), which comes under the Ministry of Home Affairs, has introduced the new e-Zero FIR initiative to nab any criminal with unprecedented speed.
In his post on X, Shah said the new system, which has been launched as a pilot project for Delhi, will automatically convert cyber financial crimes filed at NCRP or 1930 to FIRs, initially above the threshold limit of Rs 10 lakh. “The new system, which will drive investigations swiftly cracking down on cybercriminals, will soon be extended to the entire nation. The Modi government is bolstering the cybersecurity grid to build a ‘cyber-secure Bharat’,” he said.
An official said the process of issuing FIRs electronically, irrespective of territorial jurisdiction, will soon be extended to the entire nation. This initiative will enable easy restoration of money lost by victims and facilitate punitive action against cybercriminals. It leverages the provisions of the recently introduced criminal laws, an official statement said.
Shah had given instructions for the implementation of this initiative in a recent review meeting of I4C, keeping in view the difficulties faced by victims of cyber financial crimes in the recovery of the money lost.
The NCRP and 1930 helpline have enabled easy reporting and prompt action on complaints related to cyber financial crimes.
“The newly introduced process involves the integration of I4C’s NCRP system, Delhi Police’s e-FIR system and NCRB’s Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems. Now, complaints related to financial losses above Rs 10 lakh made to NCRP and 1930 will automatically lead to registration of a Zero FIR with the e-crime police station of Delhi. This will be immediately routed to the territorial cybercrime police stations. Complainants can visit the cybercrime police station within three days and get the Zero FIR converted into a regular FIR,” an official said.
The Delhi police and I4C have worked together to put in place a process for registration of cases in accordance with the new provisions of Section 173 (1) and 1(ii) of Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita. “The e-Crime Police Station of Delhi has been notified for the registration of e-FIRs and transferring them to jurisdictional police stations in Cybercrime complaints of a specified nature reported on NCRP,” the statement said.
