Nagpur Gets a New Cyber Cell Chief — DCP Deepak Aggrawal Takes Charge as City’s Digital Crime Cases Keep Rising
Nagpur, May 5, 2026. In a significant administrative reshuffle within the Nagpur City Police Commissionerate, Deepak Aggrawal has been appointed as the new Deputy Commissioner of Police — Cyber Cell for Nagpur. Aggrawal was previously posted at the Police Headquarters. He takes over the Cyber Cell, replacing DCP Lohit Matani, who had been holding additional charge of the position. nagpurupdates
The appointment comes at a moment when cybercrime in Nagpur — as in every major Indian city — is not merely a policing challenge but a daily reality for ordinary residents. Cybercrime cases are steadily increasing in Nagpur, and the officer who heads the Cyber Cell carries a portfolio that directly affects the financial safety and digital security of millions of people in the city and surrounding district. nagpurupdates
Who Is DCP Deepak Aggrawal?
Known for his administrative experience and handling of critical assignments, Aggrawal’s appointment comes at a time when cybercrime cases are steadily increasing in Nagpur. nagpurupdates
His previous posting at the Maharashtra Police Headquarters in Mumbai gives him a distinct perspective that field-posted officers sometimes lack. Officers who serve at the HQ level work at the intersection of policy, data, and inter-agency coordination — they see the statewide picture of crime trends, understand how the Maharashtra Cyber and the national cybercrime coordination framework operates, and develop relationships with officers across multiple districts and divisions.
For the Nagpur Cyber Cell — which does not operate in isolation but coordinates with Maharashtra Cyber, the national Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs, and private platforms like banks, Google, Meta, and telecom providers — an officer with HQ-level exposure brings valuable connectivity to those larger systems.
DCP Aggrawal’s specific track record in cybercrime investigation or cyber policy has not been publicly detailed at the time of this report. Nagpur Updates will profile his background in greater depth as more information becomes available from official sources.
Why Lohit Matani Was Holding “Additional Charge” — and What That Means
To understand the significance of this appointment, it helps to understand the phrase “additional charge” — a term used frequently in Indian police and government administration that often signals something important about institutional capacity.
When an officer holds “additional charge” of a position, it means they are doing two jobs simultaneously — their primary posting plus the responsibilities of a second, vacant position. In DCP Matani’s case, he was primarily heading the Traffic Branch — the role for which he earned the DG Insignia 2025 through Operation U-Turn and its dramatic reduction in road accident fatalities. The Cyber Cell DCP position was being managed by him on top of that primary responsibility.
Holding additional charge of the Cyber Cell while simultaneously running Nagpur’s entire traffic enforcement operation is an enormous workload for any single officer. While Matani’s calibre is not in question — he demonstrated under Operation U-Turn that he can drive transformational results even in challenging conditions — having the Cyber Cell run as a secondary responsibility of a traffic-focused DCP is not the ideal arrangement for a function as demanding and specialised as cybercrime investigation.
The appointment of DCP Aggrawal as a dedicated, full-time head of the Nagpur Cyber Cell — rather than a continuation of additional charge — is therefore an institutional improvement. The Cyber Cell now has an officer whose primary focus, every working day, is cybercrime. That undivided attention matters for the quality and speed of investigations, the responsiveness to new complaint types, and the leadership of a team that handles some of the most technically complex cases in Nagpur’s police portfolio.
What the Nagpur Cyber Cell Does — and Why Its Leadership Matters So Much
The Cyber Crime Unit of Nagpur is a specialised division within the Nagpur Police Department dedicated to combating cybercrimes. This unit addresses the growing threat of criminal activities facilitated by digital technology, ensuring the protection of citizens and businesses in the digital space. nagpurupdates
In practice, the Nagpur Cyber Cell’s work falls into several broad categories — each of which has grown substantially in volume and complexity over the past few years.
Financial fraud investigation is the single largest category. This includes UPI fraud, OTP fraud, online loan app scams, fake investment platforms, job offer scams, and impersonation-based fraud where callers pose as police officers, CBI officials, or TRAI representatives to extract money from victims. The amounts involved range from a few thousand rupees to lakhs — and in some cases crores — depending on the victim’s vulnerability and the sophistication of the fraud.
Social media crimes — including cyberbullying, morphed images, fake profiles, threatening messages, and defamation through digital platforms — form a growing share of the Cyber Cell’s complaint load. These cases often involve younger victims and require coordination with social media platforms to obtain account information and content evidence.
Hacking and data breach cases involve unauthorised access to corporate or personal systems, ransomware attacks on local businesses, and account takeovers across email, banking, and social media platforms.
The unit handles cases involving hacking, online fraud, identity theft, and other digital offenses, analyzing electronic devices and data to gather evidence for cybercrime investigations, and conducting awareness programs to educate the public about safe online practices. nagpurupdates
Child online abuse content investigation — a sensitive and technically demanding category — is also within the Cyber Cell’s mandate, coordinated with national agencies including the National Crime Records Bureau and Interpol for cases with international dimensions.
The Garud Drishti social media surveillance initiative — built under DCP Matani’s watch — also sits within the Cyber Cell’s operational environment. This system, which monitors social media for incitement, hate content, and criminal activity in real time, played a critical role during and after the March 2025 communal disturbances in Nagpur. DCP Aggrawal will inherit this system and will be responsible for its continued operation and development.
Nagpur’s Cybercrime Numbers — The Scale of the Problem
To appreciate the weight of DCP Aggrawal’s new role, consider the scale of cybercrime that Nagpur residents face.
Maharashtra consistently ranks among the top three states in India for reported cybercrime cases, alongside Uttar Pradesh and Telangana. Within Maharashtra, Mumbai, Pune, and Nagpur account for the largest share of cases. The national cybercrime helpline — 1930 — receives tens of millions of calls annually from across India, and Maharashtra’s contribution to that volume is significant.
In Nagpur specifically, the combination of a growing digital payment adoption, an increasingly online-active middle-class population, and the city’s role as a major commercial hub for central India makes it a consistent target for organised cybercrime networks — many of which operate from other states or even from abroad.
The city has seen waves of specific fraud types over the past two years: the “digital arrest” scam — in which fraudsters pose as police or CBI officials and tell victims they are under “digital arrest” for alleged crimes, then extort money to “resolve” the fake case — has claimed numerous victims in Nagpur, including educated, senior citizens who had no reason to suspect that such a sophisticated deception could be aimed at them. Investment fraud through fake trading apps and fake mutual fund platforms has also claimed significant sums from Nagpur residents.
The police helpline 1930 — the national cybercrime helpline — and the portal cybercrime.gov.in are the first points of contact for victims. The faster a complaint is registered after a fraud, the higher the probability that funds can be frozen in the fraudster’s account before they are withdrawn or transferred. Speed is critical in financial fraud cases, and the Cyber Cell’s ability to act quickly on incoming complaints directly affects how much money victims can recover.
What the Nagpur Cyber Police Station Looks Like — Infrastructure and Capacity
The Nagpur City Cyber Police Station is located at Patel Bungalow, Chhaoni, Nagpur — 440013. The official email is cybercrime.ngp@gmail.com and the phone number is 0712-2584377.
The Cyber Cell operates with a team of trained cyber investigators — officers with specialisation in digital forensics, social media investigation, financial fraud tracking, and technical evidence collection. The lab is equipped with forensic tools for mobile device analysis, computer forensics, and CDR (Call Detail Record) analysis — allowing investigators to reconstruct communication networks and trace fraudsters through their digital footprints.
Under DCP Matani’s tenure, the Garud Drishti initiative added 30 advanced workstations dedicated to social media monitoring — significantly expanding the Cyber Cell’s surveillance and intelligence capability. DCP Aggrawal inherits this infrastructure and will be expected to both maintain its operational intensity and potentially expand its scope as new digital crime trends emerge.
What Nagpur’s Cyber Crime Victims Should Know Right Now
Whether or not you have ever interacted with the Nagpur Cyber Cell, here is the information every resident should have:
If you are the victim of any cybercrime — financial fraud, social media abuse, hacking, identity theft, or any other digital offence — the first step is to call 1930 immediately. This is the national cybercrime helpline, available 24 hours a day. For financial fraud, calling 1930 as quickly as possible after the fraud is discovered gives the best chance of freezing the fraudster’s account before funds are dispersed.
You can also file a complaint online at cybercrime.gov.in — the national portal for cybercrime complaints. This portal allows you to upload evidence, track your complaint, and connect with the investigating cyber cell.
For Nagpur-specific complaints, you can also approach the Nagpur City Cyber Police Station at Chhaoni directly, or call 0712-2584377 during working hours.
Do not be embarrassed to report cybercrime. These frauds are perpetrated by sophisticated, organised criminal networks that specifically target people who are trusting, unfamiliar with digital scam tactics, or momentarily distracted. Reporting promptly — both to 1930 and to the Cyber Cell — is the responsible action, and it helps investigators build cases against networks that are victimising multiple people simultaneously.
What DCP Aggrawal’s Priority Should Be — An Editorial Perspective
The Nagpur Cyber Cell has benefited significantly from DCP Matani’s foundational work — Garud Drishti, the cyber lab infrastructure, and the institutional relationships with Maharashtra Cyber and national agencies. DCP Aggrawal’s challenge is to build on this foundation rather than restart from scratch.
Three priorities stand out as most urgent for the new DCP Cyber in Nagpur.
First, the “digital arrest” and fake investment fraud scams continue to claim new victims in the city every week. A targeted, visible public awareness campaign — going beyond the standard social media posts to reach older, less digitally savvy residents through community outreach, housing society visits, and coordination with banks — could prevent significant financial harm.
Second, the complaint processing speed at the Cyber Cell needs continued improvement. Every hour of delay in registering a financial fraud complaint reduces the probability of fund recovery. Systems that allow 1930 complaints to be triaged and acted upon within the first hour — not the first day — save money and restore victim confidence in the system.
Third, Garud Drishti needs to be maintained at full operational intensity. The March 2025 disturbances demonstrated that social media monitoring is not a peripheral function — it is a front-line tool for preventing physical violence. DCP Aggrawal must ensure that the 30-workstation monitoring system inherited from his predecessor continues to function at the level for which it was designed.
