Jagran Correspondent, Bhubaneswar. The scope of cyber crime is continuously increasing in Odisha. The figures from the last 16 months present a frightening picture. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said in a written reply in the Assembly on Monday that cybercriminals committed fraud worth over Rs 222 crore during this period. He said that a total of 3,486 cyber crime cases have been registered in the state. According to the data presented by the Chief Minister, the police arrested 727 accused during this period, while charge sheets were filed in 104 cases. The total amount embezzled by cyber thugs was recorded at Rs 2,22,09,78,647. The administration has so far returned Rs 61.36 lakh to the victims. Also during the investigation, 6,74,09,434 bank accounts were frozen to prevent further transfer of the fraudulent amount. How many ‘digital arrests’? Congress MP from Patangi constituency Ramchandra Kadam asked how many ‘digital arrests’ have been made by cybercriminals in the last 16 months and in how many cases arrests have been made. In response, the Chief Minister said that 69 digital arrests have been registered. It is worth noting that ‘Digital Arrest’ is a new cyber fraud technique, in which cyber criminals, pretending to be officials of a government agency, threaten people through calls, video calls or chats and cheat people out of money by keeping them under complete digital surveillance (virtual custody). The figures of previous years are also alarming, the level of cybercrime remained high in the three years before May 2025. During this period, the fraudsters defrauded around Rs 125 crore. The police then registered more than 6,000 cases and arrested 1,388 accused. Crime Branch DG Vinaytosh Mishra has already explained that different teams have been constituted to investigate various cases of cyber crime. He said the police are also conducting an awareness campaign regarding cyber security among the citizens, so that people can avoid becoming victims of fraud. The state government says that technical capacity is being increased to curb cyber fraud. Stricter steps will be taken in the coming times.