Loan sharking scam: Will amend law for stricter action, says Maharashtra Home minister Dilip Walse Patil

Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil. File pic/Pradeep Dhivar

Intensifying action against the operators of instant loan apps involved in a large-scale racket and other cyber fraudsters following mid-day's series, the state home minister held a second meeting on Wednesday, and discussed amendments to the existing law for stricter action.

The existing provisions of the law need to be amended to curb cyber crime as well as to punish the perpetrators severely. The home minister also directed [officials] to submit a proposal in this regard," read a post on the official Twitter account of the home minister's office (HMO), originally tweeted in Marathi.

Government officials, senior officers of the Mumbai police and the Maharashtra police's cyber cell, and Director General of Police Rajnish Seth attended the meeting called by Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil.

Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil at a meeting with senior state and city police officers and government officials

Patil reviewed the measures that need to be taken to curb the rising cyber crime in the state. He directed to formulate "a comprehensive policy to curb the ongoing cyber crime, financial crime, fraud through social media and online as well as to enhance the skills of cyber police".

The minister also discussed measures to effectively publicise the helpline numbers for reporting cyber crimes. "People should be made aware of the measures being taken by the government, and of the state-of-the-art technology and systems," he said at the meeting.

On vacancies in dept

During the meeting, officials also brought up the vacancies in the department, and the home minister ensured to address them. "The home minister directed that the state police force has been provided with extensive equipment to detect cyber crime, which should be fully utilised and immediate action should be taken to fill the vacancies in the department." the HMO tweeted.

Another tweet read, "A cyber police station has been set up in the state to curb cyber crimes. He opined that efforts should be made to increase the conviction rate along with effective implementation of cyber law through this medium."

He also directed that cyber officers should be given comprehensive cyber training with a view to implement preventive measures.

On hateful posts

Talking about the contents spread on social media to incite communal violence, Patil said at the meeting, "Relevant texts need to be removed from cyberspace so that they can be stopped immediately if there are any incidents that provoke religious sentiments and endanger social health."

Another HMO tweeted stated that Patil has directed to develop guidelines to create firewalls capable of preventing cyber attacks.

Patil had earlier met with mid-day journalists following this paper's series of reports on the loan app racket, and directed the cyber police to register an umbrella FIR for all the cases reported across the state.

Thereafter, the initial probe by the police showed that the real loan sharks are operating out of Nepal and the money extorted from the borrowers is channelled to China. Further investigation is underway to establish the links, police had told mid-day.

Tweet talk

Home Minister's Office
@maharashtra_hmo: ‘A cyber police station has been set up in the state to curb cyber crimes. He opined that efforts should be made to increase the conviction rate along with effective implementation of cyber law through this medium'