Mumbai Gets Full-Time Cyber Police Chief After One Year of Vacancy Amid Rising Online Frauds

After nearly a year without a dedicated leader, Mumbai’s cyber police department has finally received a full-time Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP). This comes at a crucial time, as the city recorded cyber fraud cases worth around ₹1,200 crore in 2024 alone, with only 12% of the money recovered.

On Friday, in an internal reshuffle involving 13 senior officers, Purushottam Narayan Karhad was appointed as the new DCP Cyber. The decision was confirmed through an order signed by Joint Commissioner of Police (Economic Offences Wing), Nishith Mishra, who currently also holds the charge of Joint CP Administration.

Karhad previously served with Mumbai Police’s Special Branch, which handles intelligence gathering. His new role will involve overseeing the city’s five regional cyber police stations that investigate major and sensitive cyber fraud cases, especially those involving amounts over ₹10 lakh.

The DCP Cyber post had been lying vacant since May 29, 2023, when the last full-time officer, Balsingh Rajput, was transferred. Since then, several officers have held temporary additional charges. Most recently, DCP (Detection) Datta Nalawde was handling the role, but he has now been transferred to Zone 10.

Experts and former cybercrime officers have repeatedly pointed out the need for a full-time DCP in charge of cyber policing. “When a senior officer is fully dedicated to the role, the overall performance of the cyber police stations improves significantly,” said one officer on condition of anonymity.

A former cybercrime official explained that cyber police need to do more than just crack financial fraud cases — they must also focus on busting organised cybercrime gangs, some of which operate from other states or even outside the country.

“With cybercrime evolving every six months, having a senior officer focused solely on cyber threats can help in planning, policy-making, and launching major crackdowns,” the official added. “Temporary charge-holders often prioritize their main assignments and can’t give cybercrime the attention it demands.”

The new DCP Cyber is expected to work with other law enforcement and cybercrime prevention agencies to tackle issues like data theft — a major enabler of online financial frauds. Fraudsters use stolen data to profile and target victims, making early detection and prevention essential.

The reshuffle also saw other key postings: DCPs Krishnkant Upadhyay, Datta Nalawde, and Mahesh Chimte were moved to Zones 3, 10, and 12, respectively. DCP Rajtilak Roushan was given charge of DCP Detection. Others like Navnath Dhavale, Vijaykanth Sagar, Sameer Shaikh, and Rakesh Ola took over various roles, including Anti-Narcotics Cell, Port, and Zones 6 and 7. DCPs Prashant Pardeshi, Nimith Goyal, Dattatray Kambale, and Sachin Gunjal were posted to Traffic (South), Quick Response Team, Special Branch-1, and Prevention.

With Karhad now at the helm, the cyber police unit is expected to ramp up its efforts to tackle complex cybercrime and improve its recovery rate — a much-needed move for a tech-savvy city like Mumbai.