Chandigarh: The Punjab police on Tuesday claimed that in a first, it has in co-ordination of Punjab State Legal Services Authority (PSLSA) successfully facilitated the refund of the frozen amount to the tune of ₹28.5 lakhs back in the accounts of cybercrime victims from the concerned banks.
Pertinently, the facility of Cyber Helpline 1930 was implemented by Cyber Crime Cell, Punjab police from the year 2021 to prevent financial loss to the citizens, who may have become victims of Cybercrime financial fraud.
Victim's money frozen in accounts of cyberfrauds
Director General of Police (DGP), Punjab, Gaurav Yadav said that following registration of the complaint on the helpline 1930 or Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System (CFCFRMS), the money of victims of Cyber Crime frauds were frozen in the accounts of the accused/suspects.
"Till date, as many as 28,642 complaints regarding financial frauds were filed on the helpline 1930 in Punjab, acting swiftly on which, the Cyber Cell froze an amount of approximately ₹15.5 crore, which has been lying in the banks," he said.
Victims to get refund via Lok Adalats
The DGP said that to streamline the procedure of refunding the frozen amount, the Cyber Crime Cell has approached the PSLSA to facilitate the refund to the victim accounts under section 457 of the CrPC through Lok Adalats.
He said that Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Cyber Crime, V Neeraja had a meeting Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia, executive chairman of PSLSA on December 5, 2023, and got the necessary directions issued to all District Legal Service Authorities of Punjab on the procedure to be adopted for the refund.
Sharing more details, ADGP V Neeraja said that as a pilot project, Ludhiana Commissionerate Police on December 9, 2023, had submitted 36 case applications on complaints reported on 1930 helpline for refund to the court of chief judicial magistrate, Ludhiana in the Lok Adalat, of which 33 applications were approved by the court and a total amount of ₹28.5 lakhs were ordered to be released to the accounts of the victims from the concerned banks.
“More applications for refund of the frozen amount of about ₹6 lakhs in Ludhiana and 11 from Mohali amount of about ₹15 lakhs is under consideration,” she said.
FPJ Cyber Secure | FPJ
