Hyderabad: The year 2025 saw a rise in digital fraud cases in Hyderabad, with several citizens losing crores of rupees to the cyber scammers operating from far-off countries, according to the Hyderabad Commissionerate’s Annual Report 2025. 

While the police stated there is a reduction in cybercrime cases by eight per cent due to awareness campaigns taken up online and offline, the reality is that cyber scammers got rich by Rs. 251 crore. In 86 cases of digital fraud, the victims lost Rs. 33.81 crore, while 740 people lost Rs 44.83 crore to investment fraud.

VC Sajjanar, the Hyderabad Commissioner of Police, said the cybercrime police are focusing on mule accounts operated by individuals for small commissions. “I request the public not to entertain any unknown person to conduct financial transactions in your bank account. Otherwise, you will land in trouble,” warned Sajjanar.

Uptick in murders

The general law and order situation throughout the year was marred by a series of murders reported during the two months of November and December. Local reports stated that around 20 murder cases were reported in the city during the past two months, leading to panic in the citizens. 

The police, to instil confidence, began Operation Kavach, a vehicle checking and disarmament exercise in the city. To a certain extent, the operation brought in some sense of security. Conventional crimes such as robberies, house break-ins, automobile thefts and chain snatchings have come down significantly in the city during the year.  The police higher-ups attribute it to visible policing. 

Capable task force, but corruption mars reputation

In a major development seen by many as an attempt to bring in more competent policemen into the Commissioner’s Task Force, the Hyderabad Commissioner transferred 80 policemen working in seven Task Force teams in the city. New appointments were made immediately to fill the gap in the special unit.

The year, however, was not without trouble with alleged corrupt officials. More than three Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSP)-rank officers were shunted out for indulging in corrupt activities during the year.

Using AI for anticipatory policing

In the next year, the police plan to make the most use of technology. It will augment its drone fleet and deploy the gadgets for regular policing in the city. More body-worn cameras, CCTV integration, and digital management of cases are in the offing.

The police will experiment with artificial intelligence (AI) policing for crime predictions, hotspot mapping, facial recognition and data-led deployment to move from reactive to anticipatory policing.

On the traffic front, the police plans to have smart traffic systems, AI-enabled signal management, enforcement through e-challans and integration with urban planning to address congestion and road safety.