Police inaction: THRC recommends FIR registration, compensation for cyber fraud victim

The Tripura Human Rights Commission (THRC) has recommended registration of an FIR and payment of Rs 10,000 as compensation to a woman who alleged that police failed to act after she lost Rs 97,631 in a cyber fraud. The Commission headed by Justice Arindam Lodh held that the refusal to register a case amounted to a violation of her human rights.

The recommendation came after the Commission examined a complaint filed by Surabhi Mukherjee, who alleged that she was cheated on October 17, 2025, after fraudsters posing as officials of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) induced her to transfer Rs 97,631 through UPI.

According to the complaint, the amount represented proceeds from the sale of her grandmother's gold ornaments. She said she immediately reported the incident by calling the national cyber crime helpline 1930 and received an acknowledgement. She also submitted a written complaint with transaction details, chat screenshots and call records to West Agartala Police Station on the same day.

The complainant alleged that neither West Agartala Police Station nor the Cyber Crime Police Station at A.D. Nagar registered an FIR despite repeated approaches. She claimed that officials informed her the money was unlikely to be recovered and no further action followed.

After examining the complainant, the Commission sought a report from the Director General of Police (DGP), Tripura.

In its report, the police stated that a preliminary inquiry established that the complainant had transferred the money after being induced by cyber fraudsters while attempting to resolve what she believed was an unauthorised transaction. 

It said inquiries had revealed that the money was transferred to accounts in Jio Payments Bank and HDFC Bank and requests had been sent to the banks seeking KYC details, transaction logs and IP addresses. The report added that efforts to identify those involved in the fraud were continuing.

The police also stated that no cognisable offence had initially been made out and that the complainant was approached to lodge a formal FIR, but she was primarily interested in recovering the money.

Rejecting the explanation, the Commission observed that the police themselves had found during inquiry that the complainant had been cheated by cyber fraudsters, making it their duty to register a case and investigate.

The Commission said once sufficient information disclosing a cognisable offence came to the notice of the police, registration of an FIR was mandatory and responsibility could not be shifted to the complainant.

It recommended that the investigating officer at the Cyber Crime Police Station register an FIR suo motu within 15 days. It also recommended payment of Rs 10,000 as compensation to the complainant, to be borne by the Home Department through the office of the DGP, within three months.

The Commission directed the Secretary of the Home Department to submit an action taken report within three months and fixed the matter for further consideration on October 7.