Haryana Director General of Police (DGP) Shatrujeet Kapur on Thursday said that the State Police has achieved the top position in the country for blocking mobile numbers involved in cybercrimes. According to the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, a total of 111,349 mobile numbers have been blocked by Haryana Police so far, the highest in India. This is Haryana Police's second significant national-level achievement in cybercrime control, earning widespread praise, he added.
He said that between January 1 and April 30, this year, 546,000 mobile numbers involved in cybercrimes were blocked nationwide, with Haryana Police blocking 111,349 of these, accounting for nearly 20 percent of the total. Consequently, Haryana Police has emerged as the national leader in blocking cybercrime-related mobile numbers.
Kapur further said that cybercriminals constantly devise new methods to defraud people. From January 1 to May 31, 2024, Haryana Police arrested 1,668 cybercriminals. Of these, around 400 were from Haryana, while about 1,200 were apprehended in cybercrime hotspots across Assam, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, and other states. Haryana Police has identified 50 such hotspots nationwide where cybercrime cases are most frequently reported.
DGP emphasized the critical role of mobile numbers in cybercrimes. To block these numbers effectively, Haryana Police formulated an action plan involving three key strategies. First, they extracted details of numbers used in complaints received on the cyber helpline portal and initiated blocking actions. Meetings with telecom companies' representatives were conducted to strategize and block suspicious numbers, resulting in the blocking of 111,349 mobile numbers, the highest in the country.
He said that Nuh district has reported the highest number of cybercrime cases in Haryana. In response, Haryana Police launched a special operation, identifying and blocking 18,886 mobile numbers used for cyber fraud in Nuh. This operation revealed that cybercriminals in Nuh were using mobile numbers obtained from other states. Additionally, Haryana Police is working with Airtel to develop AI-based solutions for better cybercrime control.
In collaboration with the Department of Telecommunications, Haryana Police has also blocked 496,562 mobile numbers using the 'ASTRA' software, which employs AI and facial recognition tools to identify and block numbers used with fake documents for cyber fraud. Critical information about cybercriminals' locations and activities is shared with other states to facilitate swift action and arrests, he added.
