NCRB: 1,592 cybercrimes reported in Gujarat in 2024

Ahmedabad: In 2024, Gujarat Police recorded 1,592 FIRs in cases related to cybercrimes. According to the recently published report ‘Crime in India 2024’ by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), about half the cases were related to cheating (698) and forgery (97).

According to the report, cybercrimes saw a dip compared to 2023. In 2022, the state recorded 1,417 cases; the figure rose to 1,995 in 2023, but came down to 1,592 in 2024. The rate of crimes (crimes recorded per 1 lakh population) was 2.2, which was much lower than the national rate of 7.3.

Of the total cases, 347 were recorded under the sections of the IT Act, whereas the bulk of the cases (1,221) were under the sections of IPC/ BNS, and the remaining 24 under State and Local Laws (SLLs).

Some of the other major crimes recorded included 80 frauds — 44 online banking frauds, 10 marketing and finance frauds, four ATM frauds, two fraud calls, and two e-wallet/ UPI frauds.

The state police recorded 25 cases of cyberstalking or bullying, 19 cases of fake online profiles, 13 cases of data theft, and 12 cases of violation of privacy among others.

The state was the joint third in cases of data theft with Bihar at 13 after Maharashtra (35 cases) and Telangana (14), according to the report.

City-based cybercrime experts said that the figures should be seen in the context of overall crimes and reporting of crimes. “A majority of cybercrime cases are recorded first as applications and are investigated due to the unique nature of the cases where the perpetrators could be in other states or even other countries,” a cybercrime expert said.

The expert said, “Before the onslaught of digital arrests in 2025, we primarily saw financial crimes using technology. The nature of cybercrimes has also changed over the past couple of years.”

Awareness remains the key, the expert said.

BOX1

Con Profile

Categories of cybercrimes recorded in Gujarat

Act Cases %

IT Act 347 22%

BNS/ IPC 1,221 77%

State/local laws 24 1%

BOX2

Crime triggers

Motive Cases

Fraud 1,053

Causing disrepute 292

Sexual exploitation 77

Extortion 44

Other 126

Total 1,592

Other motives include revenge, political advantage

Pointers

State stats

Highlights of cybercrimes in Gujarat

97 cases of forgery

44 cases of online banking fraud

35 cases of blackmailing

25 cases of cyberstalking/bullying

19 cases of fake profiles

13 cases of data theft

12 cases of violation of privacy

10 cases of marketing/ investment frauds

9 cases of identity theft

4 cases of ATM frauds

3 cases of cyber terrorism

3 cases of abetment of suicide