BHUBANESWAR: Cyber criminals have swindled a whopping Rs 122.48 crore from Odisha over the last four years. Replying to a question of Khandapada MLA Soumya Ranjan Patnaik, MoS Home Tusharkanti Behera informed the Assembly that the amount was swindled from the unsuspecting victims between 2018 and April, 2022.
Of the total amount, Odisha Police managed to recover only Rs 2.87 crore during the period. Police also arrested 24 inter-State anti-socials for their alleged involvement in cyber crimes. Behera informed that 1,034 persons were also arrested between 2018 and April, 2022 for harassing people on social media. He added that cyber crime police stations are being set up across the State to curb online frauds.
The State has been frequently witnessing cyber crimes in the recent years. There has also been a rise in such frauds in the State Capital over the last two years. About 146 cyber crimes were reported under Bhubaneswar Urban Police District in 2021 as compared to 108 in 2020.
Meanwhile, a local has recently lodged a complaint at Cyber police station alleging that miscreants duped him of over `2 lakh on the promise of providing him higher returns by depositing his money in United States share market.