Lucknow | The Uttar Pradesh Police has secured the third position in the country for blocking funds involved in cyber fraud cases, a significant jump from its earlier ranking of 24th. Officials said the improvement reflects strengthened response systems and better coordination with banks.
According to police sources, Uttar Pradesh now ranks just behind Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Haryana in terms of lien percentage, a key parameter that measures the effectiveness of freezing defrauded amounts before they are withdrawn.
Director General of Police Rajeev Krishna said that earlier limitations in call-handling capacity had affected response times. A 20-seater call centre at the UP-112 headquarters often struggled to manage the volume of distress calls related to financial fraud. To address this, a new 30-seater call centre was inaugurated in Lucknow in July last year, significantly improving call attendance rates.
At present, the upgraded facility can handle around 5,000 calls daily. Officials said work is underway to add 30 more seats, which will raise the call-handling capacity to nearly 9,000 calls per day.
A Cyber Fraud Mitigation Centre (CFMC) has also been established within the call centre. Representatives from 13 major banks are stationed there, enabling real-time freezing of accounts linked to suspected cyber fraud.
Cyber Crime unit officials said complaints involving large sums of money and pending cases related to “send to intermediary” transactions are being prioritised at the headquarters level. The call centre maintains constant follow-up with banks to ensure swift action.
Officials added that the initiative is part of a broader strategy outlined by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, under which cybercrime prevention and control has been identified as one of the state’s key focus areas.
