The highest number of cyber crimes in India in the year 2021 were reported from Telangana, with the state registering 10,303 cases. Kerala recorded the least number of cyber crimes among the five south Indian states with 626 cases. Incidentally, the number of cyber crime cases in Telangana has nearly doubled compared to last year, when the state had recorded only 5,024 cases. According to the latest report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) which revealed the data for 2021, Telangana is followed by Uttar Pradesh (8,829) and Karnataka (8,136) in the number of cyber crimes reported. The NCRB data shows that except Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, the other three southern states have seen a rise in the number of cyber crime cases compared to 2020.
Among the southern states, while the number of cyber crimes recorded was lowest in Kerala,Tamil Nadu had the lowest cyber crime rate of 1.4. The crime rate is calculated as crime incidence per one lakh of population. Across India, the highest rate of cyber crimes (27.3) was also seen in Telangana, followed by Assam (13.8) and Karnataka (12.1). Sikkim reported zero cyber crime cases in 2021 for the second year in a row. When it comes to metropolitan cities in south India, Bengaluru recorded 6,423 cyber crime cases in 2021, followed by Hyderabad (3,303), Chennai (76) and Kochi (62).
When it comes to cyber crimes against women, Karnataka recorded the highest number across India (2,243). Among the other southern states, Telangana recorded 883 cyber crimes against women, followed by Andhra Pradesh (471), Kerala (353) and Tamil Nadu (248). Nagaland and Tiripura reported only one such case each, while Sikkim again reported zero cases. Cyber crimes against women include cyber blackmailing/threatening, cyber pornography, hosting/publishing obscene sexual materials, cyber stalking/cyber bullying of women, defamation/morphing, and indecent representation of women among others.
Kerala and Karnataka reported nearly the same number of cyber crime cases against children – 163 and 164, respectively. Andhra Pradesh recorded only 65 cyber crimes against children in 2021, followed by Tamil Nadu (19) and Telangana (17). These crimes include cyber blackmailing/threatening/ harassment, cyber pornography, hosting or publishing obscene sexual materials depicting children, cyber stalking/bullying, and internet crimes through online games.
Meanwhile, the Telangana Police have issued a statement saying that "the higher number of cases of cyber crimes registered are attributed to the proactive measures taken by Telangana Police to deal with such crimes effectively and render justice to victims of crime (sic)". Detailing the measures taken by the state government to counter such crimes, the police also stated that "the increase in registration of crimes reflects the proactive efforts of Telangana police in fighting the crime effectively". The statement has been released a day after the NCRB data revealed that Telangana reported the highest number of cybercrimes in the nation.