Karnataka Police to Launch e-Zero FIR for Faster Cybercrime Reporting

The Karnataka State Police will soon introduce a system allowing citizens to file an e-zero First Information Report (FIR) for cybercrimes. This digital mechanism aims to expedite the freezing of bank accounts used in money laundering, enabling real-time action by banks.

Under the proposed system, a complainant must present themselves before the jurisdictional police station within three days to complete the regular FIR registration process. Failure to do so will result in the closure of the complaint.

The initiative follows the earlier introduction of the Cybercrime Incidence Report (CIR) by Bengaluru City Police, a model later adopted nationwide with the 1930 helpline for reporting cybercrimes. However, discrepancies arose as banks often demanded a formal FIR—which a CIR is not—leading to complications in freezing accounts. Additionally, cybercrime police across the country have frozen accounts outside their jurisdictions, inadvertently affecting legitimate business accounts and increasing litigation.

A senior cybercrime police official cited investment fraud cases where victims are initially paid profits from other victims' accounts. Police from various jurisdictions would freeze these accounts, causing hardships for innocent account holders.

Justice Suraj Govindaraj of the Karnataka High Court, while delivering two judgments on such matters, highlighted these issues and appointed Pronab Mohanty, Director-General of Police (Cyber Command), as the nodal officer to resolve them.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has recommended the e-zero FIR, and sources in the Karnataka Police indicate its implementation is imminent. Infrastructure development for the feature is in its final stages.

Under the proposed scheme, when a victim calls the 1930 helpline, the operator enters the details into the Karnataka Police IT portal and the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP). This generates an e-zero FIR on the state portal.

If the financial loss is below a yet-to-be-determined threshold, the incident will be recorded as a report on the e-lost platform rather than an FIR. Losses exceeding the threshold will trigger a zero FIR.

Regarding jurisdiction, if the crime falls outside Karnataka, the case will be transferred to the relevant state. This is expected to prevent police from freezing accounts beyond their jurisdictions. For crimes within the state, the case will be forwarded to the appropriate police station, where the victim must appear within three days to register a regular FIR.