A government schoolteacher in Ajitmal’s Firoznagar has found himself at the centre of a growing cybercrime crisis. Gaurav Kumar, a 38-year-old assistant teacher at a local primary school, recently lost ₹1.04 lakh to fraudsters who approached him through the messaging app Telegram. The incident highlights not only the rising sophistication of cybercriminals but also the persistent gap in institutional response mechanisms.
The Trap of “Digital Tasks”
According to accounts shared by Kumar, the ordeal began when he received an advertisement on Telegram that invited him to participate in a simple online “task” in exchange for small monetary rewards. After completing the task, Kumar was contacted via phone by unidentified individuals who claimed he had violated digital regulations. They issued a chilling warning of “digital arrest”, a term increasingly deployed by cyber fraud syndicates to create panic and compliance.
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Shortly after the call, Kumar alleges that his phone was remotely compromised. Within hours, his bank account was emptied, with funds amounting to ₹1.04 lakh siphoned into accounts controlled by the fraudsters.
Police Inaction Raises Concerns
Kumar immediately reported the incident at Ajitmal Kotwali police station. However, the complaint was brushed aside on the grounds that the matter fell under the purview of cybercrime investigation. With no immediate action taken, Kumar has since appealed to senior authorities, seeking both justice and accountability.
The case underscores a larger issue: while cybercrime has escalated sharply across Uttar Pradesh, law enforcement capacity often remains limited, leaving victims caught between bureaucratic silos. Victim testimonies repeatedly reveal delays in FIR registration, poor interdepartmental coordination, and a lack of cyber forensics infrastructure in district-level policing.
For teachers and others in modest professions, such scams can be financially devastating. Kumar, who draws a middle-income government salary, has publicly stated that the loss has placed severe strain on his household. His appeal for justice is now being seen as a test case for how local law enforcement adapts to the growing digital threat landscape.