Hyderabad: January 10, Posted at 5:26 PM IST
In a major citizen-friendly initiative, the Hyderabad City Police have launched the C-Mitra Help Desk, enabling victims of cybercrime to obtain an FIR from home without visiting a police station. The new system has been introduced at the Central Crime Station, Basheerbagh to streamline cybercrime complaint handling.
The help desk operates daily from 8 am to 8 pm and is managed by a dedicated team of 24 trained personnel. The initiative aims to reduce stress for cybercrime victims and ensure faster processing of complaints within the Hyderabad Police Commissionerate limits.
The initiative was announced by Additional Commissioner of Police (Crimes) Srinivasulu in the presence of senior police officers. Later, Hyderabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar briefed the media on the operational framework and safeguards.
Under the C-Mitra system, victims must first lodge a complaint by calling the national cybercrime helpline number 1930 or by registering the complaint on the cybercrime.gov.in portal. Once the complaint is filed, the C-Mitra team contacts the victim and explains the FIR process.
An AI-assisted draft FIR is then prepared and sent to the victim’s WhatsApp number. The complainant is required to take a printout, sign it, and submit it to the Cyber Mitra Help Desk at the Crime Police Station, Commissioner’s Office, Basheerbagh. The signed document can be submitted in person or dropped into a designated drop box outside the station.
Police officials clarified that cyber fraud cases involving amounts up to ₹3 lakh will be registered as Zero FIRs at C-Mitra and later transferred to the appropriate police station. Cases involving amounts above ₹3 lakh will be directly handled by the Cyber Crime Police Station.
The police have also warned citizens against fake calls claiming to be from C-Mitra. Officials stated that calls will be made only from the official number 040-41893111, and WhatsApp messages will originate only from numbers beginning with the 87126 series.
Describing C-Mitra as a citizen-centric experiment, officials said the initiative is expected to significantly improve accessibility, trust, and response time in cybercrime cases at a time when online fraud incidents are on the rise.
Mohammed Naseer Giyas is a multi-media and bilingual journalist with over 20 years of experience across print, digital, and television media. Founder of Raftaar-e-Deccan, he is an alumnus of IVLP, Thomson Reuters Foundation, and ICFJ, and has worked with leading English and Urdu news organisations.
