Though Uttarakhand is considered to be a generally safe state compared to other states, there has been a marked rise in incidents of cyber crime since 2016. Most of such cyber crime cases registered with the police are related to cyber bullying and cyber fraud. The maximum cases of cyber crimes recorded since 2016 till date are from Dehradun and Haridwar districts. As per the data from police headquarters, a total of 43 cases were filed across the 13 districts of the state in 2016 with the number of such cases jumping to 216 in 2017 and 121 till April this year.
In 2016, a total of 16 cases of cyber crime were filed in the six districts of Kumaon region with the maximum- nine cases being registered in the Udham Singh Nagar district followed by four in Pithoragarh and three in Nainital. In the seven districts of Garhwal region, a total of 27 cases of cyber crime were reported in 2016 with the maximum cases being 14 and seven from Haridwar and Dehradun respectively.
The reported cyber crime cases registered a marked increase in 2017 with a total of 25 cases reported from the Kumaon region-- the maximum of 15 cases being from Udham Singh Nagar district. In the Garhwal region, a total 187 cases were reported with the maximum number of cases – 150- being from Dehradun district followed by 28 in Haridwar.
In 2018 till April, a total of 23 cases were reported from Kumaon region with the maximum 10 cases being from Udham Singh Nagar district. During the same period, a total of 91 cases were registered in the Garhwal region with the maximum of 49 cases being from Dehradun followed by 26 cases in Haridwar.
Talking to The Pioneer, additional director general of police (ADG) Ashok Kumar said, “There are mainly two types of cyber crimes-- one is economic and second is bullying done on the internet. Majority of the cases reported are of cyber fraud. We can say that as the reach of the internet is spreading day by day cyber crime is also increasing. In order to tackle this, we have formed cyber cells in every district. In addition, we also hold workshops regularly for the officers to teach them the new techniques for stopping cyber crime.”
He further said, “I would say that Uttarakhand police is one of the leading police units when it comes to tackling cyber crime. We have not only filed but have caught the culprits and have put them behind the bars in a number of cases. Not just this, we have also solved some tough cases of cyber crime.”
