Haryana Police deactivate over 20,000 fraudulent numbers

In an extensive crackdown on cybercrime, the Haryana Police have deactivated 20,545 mobile numbers that were issued on the basis of counterfeit and forged documents, according to officials on Thursday.

A large number of the nullified SIM cards were activated in Andhra Pradesh, followed by West Bengal and Delhi among other regions, stated a spokesperson from the police department. It was disclosed that a total of 34,000 numbers involved in cyber fraud, including those in 40 hotspot villages of Nuh district, were identified and reported.
An additional 14,000 numbers, identified as being involved in cyber frauds, are slated to be deactivated in the near future through the Department of Telecom, government of India, as per an official statement.

Haryana Police’s State Crime Branch is currently tracking all mobile numbers involved in cybercrimes and receiving daily reports from district level authorities.
A massive operation was recently launched where 102 teams, comprising 5,000 Haryana Police personnel, raided 14 cybercrime hotspots in the Nuh district. A detailed breakdown revealed that 12,822 of the total identified fraudulent mobile numbers were issued in Andhra Pradesh, 4,365 in West Bengal, 4,338 in Delhi, 2,322 in Assam, and 2,490 in Haryana.

The State Crime Branch, the nodal agency for cybercrime, has a specialized team of 40 cyber police personnel who are deployed to respond promptly to incidents reported at ‘Helpline 1930’. The state has further bolstered its efforts by establishing the Haryana State Cyber Coordination Centre within the State Crime Branch, following directives from the Ministry of Home Affairs. A high-ranking IPS officer, Hamid Akhtar, has been assigned as the nodal officer of this coordination center.