PANAJI
Goa has registered 446 e-Zero FIRs in cyber financial fraud cases since the facility was launched in February 2026, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar informed Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
The data was shared in a written reply in Parliament, where the Minister said the e-Zero FIR system has been introduced specifically for cyber financial fraud complaints reported through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) or the 1930 cybercrime helpline.
With 446 cases in about five months, Goa has emerged as an active user of the new mechanism. For comparison, Uttarakhand, which launched the facility a month later in March 2026, has registered 552 e-Zero FIRs.
The Minister said Section 173(1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023 mandates that information relating to the commission of a cognisable offence may be given orally or through electronic communication to the officer in charge of any police station, irrespective of where the offence occurred.
The Union Government has provided a common digital platform to all States and Union Territories for the registration of e-Zero FIRs in cyber financial fraud cases. Under the system, complaints involving a specified financial loss threshold, determined by the respective State or Union Territory, are automatically converted into an e-Zero FIR.
The Minister explained that once a complaint is lodged on the NCRP portal or through helpline 1930, an e-Zero FIR is automatically registered at the State or Union Territory e-Crime Police Station. The case is then promptly transferred to the territorial cybercrime police station having jurisdiction over the matter.
The complainant is required to visit the concerned police station within three days to convert the Zero FIR into a regular FIR, enabling further investigation and procedural action.
