Jammu: The Cyber Wing of Jammu and Kashmir Police has busted a major online scam involving ₹4.4 crore with the arrest of three people from Surat, Gujarat, for allegedly keeping a Jammu-based businessman under “digital arrest,” officials said on Tuesday.
The case surfaced on September 2 after the businessman filed a written complaint at the Cyber Police Station, Jammu, alleging that he had been duped by cybercriminals posing as law enforcement officers, said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Jammu, Joginder Singh.
According to the SSP, the fraudsters falsely accused the complainant of involvement in money laundering using his Aadhaar and SIM credentials. They then kept him under “digital arrest” and coerced him into transferring ₹4.44 crore through multiple bank transactions.
An FIR was registered under Section 66D of the Information Technology Act, along with relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and an investigation was launched. The cyber police traced the money trail, analyzed digital evidence, and discovered that the racket was primarily operating from Gujarat.
Based on credible inputs, a special team was sent to Surat, where three suspects — Chauhan Manish Arunbhai, Ansh Vithani, and Kishorbhai Karamshibhai Diyoria — were arrested in a coordinated operation.
The accused were later brought to Jammu for sustained interrogation to identify their associates, gather additional evidence, and track further financial links, the SSP said.
Calling the arrests a “major breakthrough,” Singh said the police have so far frozen ₹55.88 lakh in various bank accounts linked to the accused. Efforts are underway to recover and refund the defrauded amount, with ₹6 lakh already credited back to the victim’s account.
On Monday, the first chargesheet in the case was filed in court against the arrested individuals, the SSP added.
