Official data from the Pune police has revealed a surprising and significant decline in reported cybercrime within the city for the current year. The annual figures, released on Monday, indicate that both the number of registered cases and the total financial losses have plummeted to nearly half of the previous year's totals.
A Drastic Drop in Reported Figures
According to the verified police data, Pune registered 743 cybercrime cases in 2025, with victims losing a collective sum of Rs 221 crore. This marks a stark contrast to the statistics from the previous year, which recorded a much higher 1,505 cases involving Rs 446 crore. The data suggests a dramatic improvement in the city's cybercrime landscape, with losses shrinking by approximately 50%.
When questioned on whether these numbers accurately reflect the situation on the ground, Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar offered a note of caution. He stated that the data is still undergoing verification and promised that curated information on cybercrimes in Pune would be released to the public soon.
Legal Experts Point to Under-Reporting
Despite the encouraging official statistics, cybersecurity and legal professionals have raised serious doubts. They argue that the apparent drop is less indicative of a reduction in crime and more a result of systemic issues in complaint registration.
Renowned cyber law expert Gaurav Jachak explained that while crimes like online share trading frauds, parcel scams, digital arrest frauds, and task-based frauds are actually increasing, only a small fraction of complaints make it into official police records. "Many victims are told their complaints cannot be filed due to staff shortages," Jachak revealed.
He highlighted a critical gap in the reporting process. "We now upload complaints on the national cybercrime portal and use legal provisions to freeze accounts and recover funds," Jachak said. He emphasized that if all complaints filed on the national portal were treated as First Information Reports (FIRs), the true and much larger scale of cybercrime in Pune would become evident.
Is the Decline Real or a Data Illusion?
Echoing this skepticism, another cyber law expert, Ameya Dange, expressed that it is highly unlikely cybercrime has genuinely decreased. Dange suggested the police data might represent a consolidation of figures from various police stations and the dedicated cybercrime unit, potentially masking the real volume.
"We receive complaints daily," Dange stated, shedding light on the procedural gap. "Often, preliminary inquiries begin after a complaint application is submitted, but not all these applications are converted into formal FIRs. A significant number of such complaints remain unregistered." This practice, according to experts, creates a disparity between the actual number of cybercrime incidents and the official statistics released by authorities.
The situation presents a complex picture for Pune's citizens. While the police data offers a silver lining, the warnings from experts serve as a crucial reminder for the public to remain vigilant against evolving online threats, regardless of the official figures.
