Bhubaneswar, March 9: In response to a query raised in the Odisha Assembly, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Monday expressed grave concern over the increasing wave of cybercrime in the state.
He informed the house that between June 1, 2024, and December 31, 2025, an alarming 4,238 cybercrime cases were reported, resulting in a massive financial fraud totaling Rs 260.61 crore. These cases were spread across various police stations throughout Odisha.
Despite the government's sustained efforts to raise awareness, cybercriminals continue to operate with impunity, defrauding millions of rupees from unsuspecting victims, according to official data.
The breakdown of these cases revealed that 2,482 were related to financial fraud, 1,689 to social media scams, 14 involved hacking, and 53 were categorized under other types of cyber fraud.
During this period, Odisha Police made significant progress by arresting 868 individuals linked to cybercrime activities. Among these arrests, 172 were related to financial frauds, 638 to social media scams, one to hacking, and 57 to various other cyber offenses.
Despite the large-scale financial losses, the police were able to recover a modest Rs 61.36 lakh and freeze Rs 8.89 crore worth of assets.
Moreover, data from the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) indicated a steep rise in complaints, with 27,368 cases filed in 2024 and 49,426 in 2025 from Odisha alone. The total financial loss reported in these complaints amounted to over Rs 711.99 crore during the period.
In terms of recovery, CM Majhi highlighted that in 2024, Rs 2.47 crore was successfully retrieved and returned to the victims, while Rs 23.64 crore was safeguarded by freezing suspected bank accounts, in collaboration with financial institutions and payment platforms. In 2025, enforcement efforts led to the recovery of Rs 5.31 crore, and an impressive Rs 68.71 crore was secured by freezing fraudulent accounts, preventing further financial damage.
The Chief Minister urged citizens to stay vigilant against cybercrime and reaffirmed the government's commitment to combating this growing threat with full force.
