Cybercrime & PMAY payments spark storm in Chhattisgarh Assembly, Minister Vijay Sharma questioned by BJP MLAs, Congress

RAIPUR:

The third day of the Monsoon Session of the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly witnessed sharp exchanges and heated debates, particularly over the rising cases of cybercrime in the state.

BJP MLA targeted the government, alleging gross negligence and delay in action despite the alarming surge in cyber frauds across the state. Raising the issue during the Question Hour in the House, senior BJP MLA Sunil Soni questioned the government’s inaction, stating, “Cyber frauds are being reported across the state every day. Thousands have fallen victim, and in some tragic cases, people have even committed suicide.

Yet, not a single cyber expert has been appointed so far. The situation is dire and demands immediate attention.” The session was marked by sharp criticism of the government’s “inaction and delay” in tackling what legislators called an escalating digital threat. Raising the issue in the House, senior BJP MLA Sunil Soni slammed Home minister for its “casual approach,” pointing out that despite growing cases of cyber fraud, no dedicated cyber experts had been appointed in the state.

“Thousands have been duped, and there are even cases of people dying by suicide. Yet, there has been no serious effort to address the issue. The situation is dire and there’s no clarity about cyber thanas as promised, nor any awareness where the cases should be registered.

Besides, the cops at police stations linger over the complaints having no clue about what sections to be imposed,” he said. Soni further questioned the functioning of cyber police stations.

“While the data shared by home minister Vijay Sharma claims to have cyber units, most people don’t even know where they are. NCRB and AI-based reports confirm over 16,000 cybercrime cases have been reported, yet no significant action has been taken,” he said. Responding, Sharma stated that 1,301 cybercrime cases had been registered in the state. He dismissed AI-based data, claiming the government was working with “verified figures,” and clarified that cyber cells, not stations, had been established in every district.

“The NCRB has not published new data since 2022, so questioning recent figures is baseless,” he added. Sharma added that a ‘Cyber Bhawan’ was inaugurated by chief minister at the cost of Rs 277 crore and I can take all the members for a round and show that the cases of all districts were being lodged there. BJP MLAs Ajay Chandrakar and Rajesh Munat also raised concerns. Chandrakar demanded clarity on how many cyber commandos had been trained and how many appointments had been made. Sharma reiterated that the recruitment of specialists was “in process,” but failed to give a timeline. “The cyber experts are being empanelled under the IT Act while batch of six trained cyber experts including an IPS are already on job as experts. This is a continuous process and appointments will be done.” Munat cited figures indicating Rs 107 crore had been siphoned off through cyber fraud in the state, of which only about Rs 3 crore had been recovered.

He demanded the appointment of a senior officer to oversee the situation. Sharma responded that recovery of funds is subject to court procedures and that an IG-level officer has already been appointed for cybercrime. In response to a query on arrests made between January 2024 and June 2025, Sharma said three bank-related fraud cases had led to the imprisonment of seven accused, from Raipur, Durg and Bilaspur. While the cybercrime debate dominated the session, Opposition Congress also raised the issue of completion of work and payments under PM Awas Yojana and MNREGA. Leader of Opposition Dr Charan Das Mahant questioned the state’s handling of PM housing benefits, especially in cases where houses were allegedly marked complete despite missing toilets. He asked if the completion is considered and payments were done only upon construction of house, or MNREGA work or building of toilets. Deputy CM Vijay Sharma defended by attributing past delays to the previous government and claimed that under CM Vishnu Deo Sai, all pending payments had been cleared right from year 2011. In further exchanges, Mahant raised concerns about fund delays in MNREGA, citing specific districts like Jashpur and Bijapur. Sharma responded that all labour payments were made by June 30, but agreed to verify any discrepancies if provided with documentation, mainly in interior regions of Bijapur, where bank accounts might not be functional. Mahant reacted stating that he has got complaints about completed houses under PMAY, the payments were which were stalled by claiming they were incomplete and they were trying to “fool” the govt. Sharma replied that Mahant’s comment was very hurtful to him while he’s ready with all the documents that shows how Congress delayed the PMAY construction despite approval from the Centre. This was followed by noisy scenes as opposition members objected Sharma’s reply. Assembly Speaker Raman Singh then said the word ‘bewakoof’ was abolished and it should not be used any further in the House.