Cybercrime victims now get refund in 1-2 months in Gujarat

AHMEDABAD: Seeing your hard-earned money stolen by a cybercriminal is distressing. What makes the loss worse is dealing with the bank's elaborate bureaucratic maze and the judicial process for months or even years and still being unable to get the money refunded.
The Gujarat CID crime has now found a way to cut the red tape. By invoking a special provision in Section 457 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), they have returned Rs 8.29 crore to 3,904 cybercrime victims in a month or two through special lok adalats held across Gujarat.
The success of the procedure, implemented in June 2022, brought a group of senior officials from the Union ministry of home affairs to Gandhinagar on February 25. "They studied the operation so that they can study and implement it across the country," revealed a senior CID crime official.
A police officer said, "Usually, a cybercriminal steals a target's money, wire transfers it to a dubious account located in a remote corner of the country and then withdraws the amount through an ATM."
'In most cases victims don't want to press charges'
The police officer continued, "If the victim informs the police about the fraud immediately on the 1930 helpline, the bank freezes the dubious account, making it impossible for the criminal to withdraw the money. To release the amount from the bank, the victims need a court order. However, in most cases, the victims do not want to press charges and just want their money back."
CID Crime, Cybercell, DySP B M Tank said a special committee suggested using Section 457 of the CrPC, which empowers a magistrate to use their discretion to order the conditional release of the frozen amount.
The rule states, "Whenever the seizure of property by any police officer is reported to a magistrate under the provisions of this Code... If the person so entitled is known, the magistrate may order the property to be delivered to him on such conditions (if any) as the magistrate thinks fit...". Cybercriminals have stolen Rs 814.81 crore from nearly 1. 27 lakh gullible Gujaratis since 2020.
R B Brahmbhatt, additional DGP, CID (crime and railways), said, "If a victim calls in the initial hours, which we call golden hours, then the money trail can be established, and further transaction can be blocked. But we were not satisfied by just blocking the money. So, we decided to use CrPC 457 to get the muddamal (money in this case) by making a plea before a magistrate. Thus, the money will be blocked and returned as the opponent - cyber crooks in such cases - would not come and oppose it."
The police generally get around 1,200 to 1,300 calls a day, and all of them cannot be converted to FIRs, he said, adding: "It would not be possible to inquire into all the complaints. So, we decided to help the people get their money back without any problem."
Tank adds, "We know the victim, but the credentials of the criminal who created the fake account are unknown. In this situation, the police seek a bond from the victim. S/he must declare that they will pay 1.5 times the refunded amount to the bank in case their claim is false or if other claims are made on the amount. Once this is done, the magistrate executes an order to release the frozen amount."
Sub-inspector, CID cyber cell, H J Parmar, who has been associated with the process, says, "Our first lok adalat was held at the Ahmedabad metropolitan court on June 6, 2022, where 715 applications were processed and Rs 1.5 crore was refunded to the victims. The CID had consulted an elaborate group of law professionals, including state legal authority and law professors led by Rahul Trivedi, who suggested the process."
Confirming that MHA officials had visited Gujarat to study the procedure, Brahmbhatt said, "No Indian state has implemented this procedure under Section 457 of the CrPC. Gujarat pioneered it, and the MHA will instruct all states to follow the model."