Telangana Cyber Security Bureau arrests 228 criminals

Hyderabad: TheTelangana Cyber Security Bureau (TGCSB) has apprehended 228 accused persons, including 27 women, over the last seven months. The individuals were involved in various cyber crime offences across India.

The arrests were made across multiple states, including Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Jharkhand.

According to the Cyber Security Bureau, the crackdown covered a wide range of cyber crimes, from fake call centres and job scams to child exploitation and cyber slavery rings. “This extensive enforcement effort, including three special operations conducted during this period by TGCSB, resulted in a 13 per cent decline in cyber crime cases in Telangana during the first half of this year,” said Shikha Goel, Director, TGCSB.

During the same period, the Child Protection Unit (CPU) of TGCSB arrested 15 habitual offenders associated with 57 cyber tip line complaints involving Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Material (CSEAM) across Telangana. In special operations, the bureau also arrested various other accused involved in multiple crimes across the country. The 228 arrested individuals are linked to 1,313 all-India and 189 Telangana crime links, in which Rs 92 crore was defrauded. The arrested hail from every corner of India, including Telangana (93), Nagaland (42), Gujarat (20), Andhra Pradesh (17), West Bengal (6), Uttar Pradesh (6), Manipur (5), Assam (5), Maharashtra (5), Odisha (5), Karnataka (3), Bihar (3), Meghalaya (2), and one each in Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Jharkhand, and Madhya Pradesh.

The arrested individuals were found to be involved in various types of cyber offences, including 66 related to fake call centres, 77 in investment and job frauds, 15 CSEAM-related, 18 in cyber slavery modules, 13 online trading frauds, and several other offences such as illegal SIM box operators, digital arrest, identity theft, and impersonation.