The Punjab government has decided to widen the role of the Crime Control Department (CCD) to take strong action against criminals involved in online and electronic fraud.
Earlier, the CCD mainly dealt with serious crimes such as dacoity, robbery, drug trafficking, and sexual offences. Under the new plan, the department will now also target people running digital scams and using electronic devices to cheat citizens out of their money.
The decision was taken after a sharp increase in fraud cases across the province. Many innocent people have lost their life savings to online scams, with salaried workers and business owners among the most affected. Even beneficiaries of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) have fallen victim to these fraud schemes.
Reports indicate that some of these criminal networks are also involved in short-term kidnappings. However, many such cases go unreported, as victims often avoid registering police complaints due to fear or social pressure.Officials believe these organised gangs have made billions of rupees through online fraud, electronic scams, and related crimes. The scale of these losses has raised serious concerns within the government.
To deal with the problem more effectively, authorities have also decided to target the financial foundations of these criminal groups. Under the new measures, properties and assets belonging to individuals linked to organised scam networks will be seized according to the law.
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The aim of this action is to break the financial strength of these gangs, stop their illegal activities, and recover stolen money. The expanded powers given to the CCD are expected to help protect citizens from growing digital crime and strengthen law enforcement efforts across Punjab.
