Maharashtra is gearing up for a major digital overhaul of its policing system, with the state confirming that its new AI-enabled crime investigation platform, MahaCrimeOS AI, will soon reach every police station. The system has been tested quietly for months in Nagpur, where 23 stations have been using it to speed up cybercrime investigations an urgent need as India reported over 3.6 million cyber offences in 2024.

The project gained national attention when Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella highlighted it during the company’s AI Tour in Mumbai. Calling the initiative “a great example… of using the power of this technology to help citizens,” he said the platform demonstrates how quickly advanced tools can be brought into public service.

MahaCrimeOS AI was jointly created by Microsoft’s India Development Center, the state-run innovation unit MARVEL, and Hyderabad-based cybersecurity startup CyberEye. Using Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service and Foundry tools, the system combines automated workflows, AI assistants, and secure cloud infrastructure to help officers analyse digital evidence, trace online activity, draft notices, pull legal references, and cross-link cases more efficiently.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who has been championing AI-enabled governance through MARVEL, said the initiative is part of a larger push to modernise state operations. “The vision behind creating MARVEL is to build a platform that partners with global deep-technology leaders to develop AI copilots that can fundamentally transform the way we govern. Our collaboration with Microsoft began with solving complex cybercrime challenges, but its potential is far greater,” he said.

The pilot run in Nagpur has already shown tangible improvements. Officers reported fewer delays while retrieving banking and telecom records, smoother handling of digital documents, and quicker preparation of case files. Many described the multilingual AI support and instant access to criminal law references as major confidence boosters, particularly for complex online fraud cases.

Microsoft India and South Asia President Puneet Chandok said the company is focused on strengthening investigative systems across the state. “By combining the scale of Microsoft Azure with cutting-edge AI capabilities, we’re empowering every officer in Maharashtra to investigate faster, smarter, and more securely,” he said.

MARVEL CEO and Nagpur Rural SP Harssh Poddar emphasised the broader impact of the tool: “MahaCrimeOS AI is redefining how we fight cybercrime turning complexity into clarity and speed. This platform is not just about faster investigations; it’s about building trust, setting new standards for governance, and creating a model that can scale across India.”

CyberEye’s founder, Ram Ganesh, said the collaboration is aimed at equipping India with a strong defence against digital threats, describing the effort as helping build “India’s digital shield”, enabling police to protect citizens “faster and with confidence.”

With the full rollout now approved, Maharashtra is expected to become the first state in the country to adopt a uniform AI-based cybercrime investigation system across its entire policing network.