Telangana CM pledges to curb cybercrimes and enhance cyber safety

HYDERABAD: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy reaffirmed the state government's commitment to curb cybercrimes and transform Telangana into a cyber-safe state.

The Chief Minister emphasised the need to tackle cybercrimes with a firm hand during his visit to the Telangana Command & Control Centre (TGCCC), where he chaired a meeting with Law and Order officers from the Tri-Commissionerates of Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Rachakonda.

During the meeting, Revanth Reddy highlighted that around 10,000 FIRs had been registered in the state this year. He noted that Telangana is among the few states with a fully functional Cyber Security Bureau and a 24/7 operational 1930 call centre. The state has successfully frozen nearly Rs 263 crores of defrauded funds, blocked 36,000 SIMs, 8,300 IMEIs, and 2,300 URLs/Apps, and established crime links for 671 accused in almost 77,000 cybercrime cases across the country.

Since April 2024, seven new Specialized Cyber Crime Police Stations have been operational in the state. The process for refunding defrauded amounts has been simplified, resulting in Rs 32 crores being refunded to 5,191 victims since March 18, 2024. Each police station in the state now has a trained cyberwarrior to handle cybercrime complaints.

The Chief Minister reiterated the government's support for the Cybercrime Bureau, announcing a budget sanction of Rs 3.75 crores for the first quarter of the year. He also flagged off 14 four-wheelers and 55 two-wheeler vehicles sanctioned for the Cyber Security Bureau.

Director General of Police Ravi Gupta, Director TGANB Sandeep Shandilya, Director TGCSB Shikha Goel, CP Hyderabad City K. Sreenivasa Reddy, CP Cyberabad Avinash Mohanty, CP Rachakonda Tarun Joshi, IGP P&L Ramesh Reddy, and other senior police officers attended the meeting.