Mumbai's cyber police unit has finally received a full-time head after nearly a year. Purushottam Narayan Karhad was appointed as the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Cyber on Friday, May 30. The department has had no full-time DCP since May 29, 2023.
The appointment comes as cyber frauds in the city reached INR 1,200 crore in 2024. The recovery rate of stolen money is just 12 per cent.
Karhad’s appointment was part of a wider reshuffle in which 13 DCPs were moved to new positions. The order was signed by Joint Commissioner of Police Nishith Mishra. Mishra also holds the post of Jt. CP Administration along with his role in the Economic Offences Wing.
Karhad was earlier posted in the Special Branch, the intelligence division of Mumbai Police. He now takes charge under the criminal branch as the full-time DCP Cyber.
The cyber police post was previously held by DCP Balsingh Rajput until May 29, 2023. Since then, several officers from the criminal branch had handled the role as an additional charge. The last officer with additional charge of DCP Cyber was DCP (Detection) Datta Nalawde. He returned to his earlier post in Zone 10 on Friday.
The DCP Cyber oversees five regional cyber police stations in Mumbai. These stations handle all major cybercrime cases involving amounts above INR 10 lakh.
As per reports, cyber frauds are often linked to data theft. Fraudsters use stolen data to find and target new victims. A full-time DCP can work with other agencies to stop such data thefts. They can also find ways to detect new threats and stop them before damage is done.
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