Jammu, May 20, Rahies Ajmil: In a significant stride towards modernizing policing and combating cybercrime, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has officially launched the e-Zero FIR initiative. While currently in a pilot phase in Delhi, this groundbreaking system is poised for a nationwide rollout, which will bring its benefits to Jammu & Kashmir in the near future, offering a new dimension to how cyber financial crimes are reported and investigated.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced on May 19, 2025, that the MHA’s Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) has introduced the new e-Zero FIR system. This initiative aims to “nab any criminal with unprecedented speed” and is a significant step towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a ‘Cyber Secure Bharat’.
What is E-Zero FIR and How Does It Work?
The e-Zero FIR system is designed to automatically convert complaints of cyber financial crimes, particularly those with a threshold limit of ₹10 lakh and above, into First Information Reports. These complaints are primarily registered through the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) or the national cybercrime helpline, 1930.
* Automated Conversion: Complaints meeting the financial threshold will automatically lead to the registration of a Zero FIR with the e-Crime Police Station in Delhi during the pilot phase.
* Jurisdiction-Agnostic: A key feature of the “Zero FIR” concept is that a complaint can be registered irrespective of the geographical jurisdiction where the crime occurred. This enables immediate reporting, crucial in cases where time is of the essence, especially for financial fraud.
* Integration: The process integrates the I4C’s NCRP system, Delhi Police’s e-FIR platform, and the National Crime Records Bureau’s (NCRB) Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS). This seamless data flow is expected to significantly enhance investigative capabilities.
* Victim Follow-up: For cases automatically registered as e-Zero FIRs, victims are generally allowed a three-day window to visit their respective cybercrime police station to convert the Zero FIR into a regular FIR for further investigation.
* Legal Basis: This initiative leverages the provisions of the recently introduced new criminal laws, specifically Section 173(1) and 173(1)(ii) of the Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which facilitates the issuance of FIRs irrespective of jurisdiction.
Impact and Future for J&K:
While the pilot is currently in Delhi, the MHA has confirmed that the e-Zero FIR system will soon be extended to other States and Union Territories, including Jammu & Kashmir. This expansion is critical, as cybercrime continues to be a growing concern across the nation.
Data from the MHA indicates that since its launch in 2021, nearly 13.4 lakh complaints have been received via the I4C’s ‘citizen financial cyber fraud reporting and management system’, involving thousands of crores of rupees in cyber fraud.
The e-Zero FIR system aims to improve the conversion rate of these complaints into actionable FIRs, thereby increasing the chances of recovering lost funds and taking punitive action against cybercriminals.
Jammu & Kashmir Police have already been embracing digital transformation, with initiatives like e-FIRs (some lodged via email and WhatsApp), e-Sakshya for digital evidence management, and integration with CCTNS. In fact, over 70 FIRs have been registered based on electronically submitted complaints in J&K, and more than 100 Zero FIRs have been filed, with 83 transferred to police stations outside the region, as of March 2025.
The full implementation of the e-Zero FIR for cybercrimes will further bolster these efforts, providing a more robust and responsive framework for citizens in J&K to report and seek justice for financial cyber frauds.
JK Top News will continue to monitor the national rollout and provide specific updates on the implementation and accessibility of the e-Zero FIR system for the residents of Jammu & Kashmir.
