In a decisive move to combat the surge in online financial crimes, Gujarat's Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi has called upon banks to significantly enhance their coordination with the state police. The aim is to ensure the immediate freezing of disputed funds reported through the national cybercrime helpline number 1930.
Urgent Call for Action at SLBC Meeting
Addressing the 187th meeting of the State Level Bankers' Committee (SLBC) in Gandhinagar on Tuesday, Sanghavi highlighted the state police's efforts in scaling up their response system. The police have substantially increased the number of tele-operators to handle the influx of cybercrime complaints on the 1930 helpline. The Deputy CM stressed that banks must match this proactive stance with quicker response times to effectively block stolen money.
He revealed a significant achievement: all cybercrime cases registered via the 1930 helpline on the previous Monday saw a 100% success rate in freezing the targeted funds. Sanghavi emphasized that such seamless coordination is absolutely vital for safeguarding the hard-earned money of citizens.
Proposed Framework: Nodal Officers and Joint Committee
To institutionalize this collaboration, the minister put forth concrete proposals. He directed that every bank must appoint a dedicated nodal officer responsible for acting promptly on each cyberfraud alert generated from the helpline.
Going a step further, Sanghavi proposed the formation of a joint committee comprising representatives from the state home department, Gujarat Police, and the nodal officers from banks. This committee is envisioned to streamline processes, remove bottlenecks, and speed up collective action against cyber criminals, ensuring a unified front.
Vigilant Bank Staff Praised for Preventing Major Scam
Citing a recent example from Ahmedabad, the Deputy Chief Minister commended the alertness of bank manager Jayesh Gandhi. Gandhi played a crucial role in preventing a senior citizen, who was trapped in a sophisticated 'digital arrest' scam, from transferring a massive sum of Rs 45 lakh to fraudsters.
This incident, Sanghavi noted, underscores how vigilance and a humane approach by bank employees can substantially reduce the success rate of cybercrime. He urged all bank staff to adopt similar diligence to protect customers.
The high-level meeting was attended by key figures including SLBC Gujarat chairman Debadatta Chand, RBI executive director Sonali Sen Gupta, Union finance ministry joint secretary Manoj Ayyappan, along with senior officials from the state's finance department and nationalised banks, signaling the seriousness of the issue.
