Digital Arrest Scam: J&K Police Arrests 3 from Gujarat for Duping Jammu Trader of Rs 4.4 Crore

Jammu, Oct 7: The cyber wing of Jammu and Kashmir Police has busted a major online fraud, arresting three persons from Surat, Gujarat, for duping a Jammu-based businessman of Rs 4.4 crore by keeping him under a so-called “digital arrest,” officials said on Tuesday.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Jammu, Joginder Singh, said the case came to light on September 2 after the victim lodged a complaint, alleging that cyber fraudsters impersonating law enforcement officials had extorted huge sums of money from him.

The fraudsters falsely accused the complainant of being involved in money laundering using his Aadhaar and SIM credentials. They then kept him under “digital arrest” — a form of psychological coercion — and forced him to transfer Rs 4.44 crore across multiple bank accounts through several transactions.

An FIR under Section 66D of the Information Technology Act, along with relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), was registered.

Following detailed digital and financial investigations, police traced the network to Gujarat. A special team was dispatched to Surat, leading to the arrest of three accused — Chauhan Manish Arunbhai, Ansh Vithani, and Kishorbhai Karamshibhai Diyoria.

The accused have been brought to Jammu for interrogation to identify other conspirators and trace additional financial links.

Calling it a “major breakthrough,” SSP Singh said that the cyber police have so far frozen Rs 55.88 lakh in various bank accounts linked to the accused, while Rs 6 lakh has already been refunded to the victim.

On Monday, the first chargesheet in the case was filed in court against the arrested individuals, the officer added.