Patna: Bihar continues to grapple with a sharp rise in cybercrime, as digital adoption outpaces the state's capacity to tackle increasingly sophisticated online offences. According to the National Crime Records Bureau's (NCRB) 'Crime in India 2024' report, Bihar registered 6,380 cybercrime cases in 2024, marking a steep increase of nearly 43% from 4,450 cases in 2023. This rise reflects both greater awareness among victims and the growing reach of organised digital fraud networks.
Case Disposal: A Grim Picture
The situation appears even more alarming when examined through the lens of case disposal. Out of 11,764 pending cybercrime cases in the state—including 5,384 cases carried forward from the previous year—authorities managed to finally dispose of only 12 cases during 2024. As a result, nearly 99.8% of cases remained unresolved. At the national level too, around 91% of cybercrime cases remained pending, highlighting widespread delays in investigation and prosecution.
Arrests and Convictions
Police in Bihar arrested 1,333 accused, including nine women, in connection with various cyber offences during the year, while 1,462 accused were chargesheeted. However, convictions remained extremely low. Of the 12 cases that reached final disposal, eight ended in conviction while four resulted in acquittal. Across India, only 2,292 cyber criminals were convicted during the same period, with Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka performing comparatively better.
Investigation Bottlenecks
Investigation progress in Bihar remained sluggish. Police failed to complete probes in nearly 87% of the cases. Of the 11,764 cases available for investigation, only 524 were closed for lack of sufficient evidence, while charge sheets were filed in 917 cases. This means only 1,481 cases witnessed meaningful movement at the police stage, leaving 10,283 cases effectively stuck in the system.
Of the fresh cases registered in 2024, only 917 were sent for trial, joining 4,865 older cases already pending before courts. Bihar alone accounted for 5,782 pending cybercrime trial cases out of nearly 98,000 such cases across the country.
Financial Cyber Frauds: Bihar Among Worst Hit
The state also emerged among the worst affected in financial cyber frauds. Bihar recorded 4,020 cyber fraud cases in 2024, the second highest in the country after Telangana, which reported 18,922 such cases.
Within financial crimes, Bihar registered 690 credit and debit card fraud cases, again the second highest after Telangana's 2,738. The state also recorded 701 ATM fraud cases, second only to Telangana's 855. In online banking fraud, Bihar ranked third nationally with 829 cases, besides recording 75 OTP fraud cases, the second highest in India.
Other major categories included 109 cases related to fake profiles under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and IPC—the highest number reported by any state. Cyber blackmailing and threatening cases stood at 77, second only to Telangana's 220. Bihar also recorded eight cases under the Gambling Act, jointly topping the national list with Chhattisgarh.
Overall, 3,771 cybercrime cases in the state were linked to online fraud, 1,167 to personal enmity, 187 to extortion or ransom demands and 96 to sexual exploitation.
Motives and Vulnerable Groups
The NCRB data further revealed that Bihar reported the highest number of cybercrimes motivated by personal revenge, with 1,167 such cases. Crimes driven by emotional motives such as anger accounted for another 842 cases.
Cybercrimes targeting women remained a major concern, with 864 cases registered during the year. These included cyber blackmailing, online harassment and fake-profile-related offences. Besides, 21 cybercrime cases against children were also reported.
Official Response
SP cyber (cooperation and investigation) of the Cybercrime and Security Unit (CCSU), Vaibhav Sharma, attributed Bihar's high figures largely to better reporting mechanisms and stronger conversion of complaints into FIRs.
"Reported crime in Bihar ranks at a good number. In reporting also, we are currently at 3rd position, and Bihar's FIR conversion rate is better than other states—in that also we are at 3rd position," Vaibhav said.
He explained that unlike several other states where complaints often do not get converted into FIRs, Bihar focuses on registering cases to facilitate refunds and ensure justice for victims.
On the low disposal rate, Vaibhav cited acute manpower shortages in cyber police stations. "There is actually a manpower shortage in almost all cyber police stations, that is why the disposal rate is quite low," he said.
He added that disposal rates had improved over the last two years and disputed the figure of only 12 final disposals during the year, claiming the actual monthly disposal rate was significantly higher.
