Ladakh yet to have cyber-crime Police Station
Cyber fraud cases continue to increase
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Mar 13: Digital registration of FIRs in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has surged significantly in recent years following the integration of all Police Stations with the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS), a nationwide platform aimed at modernizing policing and enabling real-time tracking of crimes and criminals across the country.
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Moreover, the expansion of the CCTNS network has facilitated online registration of complaints, digitization of police records and seamless sharing of crime-related data among law enforcement agencies, thereby strengthening technology-driven policing in the Union Territory.
This information was provided by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in the Parliament while answering the query regarding integration and operationalization of Police Stations under the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems platform.
All the 268 Police Stations in the Union Territory of J&K and 11 in Ladakh Union Territory have been brought under the CCTNS platform, connecting them with the national digital crime tracking system, the Ministry said, adding CCTNS enabled all the Police Stations to digitize police related process including FIRs, charge-sheets etc by entering data in the CCTNS application hosted at the State Data Centre. The data is then replicated in near real-time at National Data Centre.
“All the Police Stations have been provided facility to search crime, criminal and property related information at the National Data Centre”, the Ministry of Home Affairs said, adding the Master Codes have also been provided to uniquely identify State, District, Police Station, Acts and Sections etc to ensure all law enforcement agencies use standard codes.
The adoption of the digital platform has led to a significant increase in online registration of First Information Reports in Jammu & Kashmir over the last three financial years. As per the official figures, 12,632 FIRs were registered digitally in 2023, 13,959 FIRs in 2024 and 26,253 FIRs were registered in 2025.
The figures indicate nearly a two-fold increase in digital FIR registrations reflecting growing reliance on online systems for crime reporting and police documentation.
However, in the Union Territory of Ladakh, the number of digital FIRs has remained comparatively lower and fluctuating. The UT recorded 2,908 digital FIRs in 2023, which declined to 530 in 2024 before increasing slightly to 612 in 2025.
Even as digital policing gains momentum in the UT of J&K yet the region continues to face limited dedicated infrastructure to tackle cyber-crimes and this can be gauged from the reply to another question by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The Ministry informed the Parliament that only two cyber-crime Police Stations are functioning in Jammu & Kashmir, while Ladakh does not have any such specialized Police Station. This is notwithstanding the fact that cyber-crime cases have been reported consistently in Jammu & Kashmir during the last three years.
As per the official data, 154 cases were registered in 2021, 173 cases in 2022 and 185 cases in 2023. During this period, the police filed chargesheets in 165 cases and secured four convictions, while 282 accused persons were arrested in connection with cyber-crime incidents.
In Ladakh, cyber-crime cases remained limited, with five cases reported in 2021, three in 2022 and one in 2023, and no chargesheets or convictions recorded during this period.
To strengthen the country’s response to cyber offences, the Government has established the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs. The citizens can report cyber offences through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, while the Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System allows authorities to respond quickly to financial fraud cases.
A comprehensive Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) was issued by the Central Government on January 2, 2026. It provides a uniform, victim centric framework for handling complaints through the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) and Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System.
The SOP outlines a dedicated coordination mechanism to enhance collaboration, particularly with States and Union Territories whose police agencies are integral stakeholders in the system, the Ministry of Home Affairs said.
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