Three Key Arrests for Digital Fraud in Last Few Weeks From Gujarat's Surat

New Delhi: Two weeks after an elderly couple died by suicide in Karnataka’s Belgavi town after they were defrauded of Rs 60 lakh by cyber criminals in a case of digital arrest, police have picked a 30-year-old man from Gujarat’s Surat city as an accused in the case. 

This is the third such arrest made in Gujarat’s Surat city in cases related to digital arrest in the last few weeks. On April 6, police had nabbed a man, also from Surat, for duping a businessman in West Bengal of Rs 80 lakh through digital arrest. According to news reports, the man, identified as Savle Shailesh, has been named by police as the ‘mastermind’ of the digital fraud. 

Earlier, another person, identified as Mohammad Amir, was also picked up from Gujarat in the same case. Times of India said the businessman had received a call from the conmen, “who passed as Mumbai Police narcotics department officers.”

“They kept him under video call watch for three days, alleging they had intercepted a parcel in his name that contained contraband.” 

In the Karnataka case, the accused picked up by Belgavi Police on April 6 has been identified as Chirag Jeevarajbhai Lakkad. The couple who took their life due to the cyber fraud committed on them, were allegedly accused by cybercriminals of misusing their mobile SIM card to commit criminal activities, said news reports.

Police said Lakkad received Rs 6.1 lakh of the Rs 60 lakh transferred by the couple to the cyber criminals through bank transfer. 

This past January, a Russian national was also arrested by Gujarat Police in connection with another case of digital arrest in which a man was duped of Rs 17 lakh. The probe in that case had begun after a local businessman had approached the cyber crime cell that cybercriminals posed as Customs and police officials duped him of the money. 

Cases involving the technique of 'digital arrest' have spiked hugely in Gujarat. News reports quoting police data said 67 digital arrest fraud cases have come to light in just two months of 2025 alone. “Those targeted typically include elderly people, retirees, professionals and business owners,” said an Ahmedabad Mirror report. 

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