The Panchkula police in Haryana have announced a year of significant achievements for 2025, marked by a substantial increase in refunds to victims of cyber fraud and a notable decline in crimes against women. The annual review, released on December 31, 2025, highlights a multi-pronged approach that yielded positive results across key law and order fronts.
Cybercrime Crackdown Yields Financial Justice
In a major win for victims, the Panchkula police successfully facilitated the refund of over Rs 3.21 crore lost to online scams in 2025. This figure represents a dramatic increase from the Rs 1.35 crore refunded in the previous year. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Manpreet Singh Sudan provided detailed statistics, noting that while registered cybercrime cases saw a slight decrease from 169 in 2024 to 156 in 2025, police action intensified. Arrests in such cases nearly doubled, jumping from 91 to 173.
The financial trail of cybercrime was aggressively pursued, with a cumulative Rs 11 crore in illicit proceeds frozen over the past two years. Beyond monetary recoveries, the Cyber Cell also traced and returned 150 missing mobile phones, with an estimated total value of nearly Rs 22.5 lakh, adding a tangible dimension to their citizen-centric efforts.
Sharp Decline in Crimes Against Women
Another cornerstone of the year's success was the improved safety environment for women. As highlighted by DCP Srishti Gupta, the district witnessed a 20% reduction in molestation and harassment cases, with numbers falling from 30 to 24. More strikingly, reported rape cases saw a nearly 50% decline, dropping from 27 cases in 2024 to 14 in 2025.
The police attribute this positive trend to proactive strategies, including the identification of crime hotspots and strategic deployment of personnel to ensure swift legal action. This focused approach aimed at deterrence and rapid response appears to have contributed significantly to the downward trend.
Intensified Fight Against Drug Trafficking
While progress was made in several areas, the police reported an uptick in action against drug trafficking networks. In 2025, authorities registered 124 cases and made 255 arrests, compared to 118 cases and 208 arrests the year before. The scale of seizures also increased substantially, encompassing 246 kg of poppy husk, over 13 kg of opium, 1.93 kg of heroin, more than 17 kg of charas, and 20,410 intoxicant tablets.
A key community initiative, the 'Drug- and Violence-Free My Village – My Pride' campaign, was expanded since December, reaching 551 villages and colonies. It engaged directly with over 27,000 residents, identified around 3,000 traffickers, and facilitated medical treatment for 2,736 victims, with 132 admitted to rehabilitation centres. In a strong message against profiting from crime, properties of six traffickers, acquired through illegal drug trade, were demolished, and four others were attached.
Commissioner of Police Shivas Kaviraj stated that the force remained committed to effective, transparent, and result-oriented work in crime control, drug eradication, and public security throughout the year. The report also noted improved emergency response, with emergency vehicles now reaching callers in an average of 8 minutes and 5 seconds, down from 10 minutes and 35 seconds previously.
