Uttarakhand STF arrests two in 'digital arrest' fraud case

Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], April 9 : The Uttarakhand Special Task Force (STF) has arrested two members of a gang accused of defrauding people across India using the pretext of "digital arrest", officials said.

Speaking exclusively to ANI, Uttarakhand STF Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ajay Singh confirmed the operation and said the gang members were apprehended in Srinagar (Budgam), Jammu and Kashmir. The arrested suspects have been identified as Shaukat Hussain Malik and Bilal Ahmad Malla.

The operation follows a complaint filed by a 71-year-old Dehradun resident at the Cyber Police Station. The victim reported that on November 21, 2025, he received a call from an unknown number. The caller impersonated a telecom department official, claiming a fraud case had been registered against him in Delhi.

He later received a WhatsApp call in which the fraudsters, dressed as police officers, claimed to be from the CBI and Delhi Police. They allegedly charged him with money laundering and placed him under a so-called "digital arrest."

The victim said, "They threatened me and forced me to transfer Rs 65 lakh into multiple bank accounts."

Based on the complaint, the STF laid a trap to track the gang members and successfully apprehended Malik and Malla in Srinagar. The suspects are now in custody, and further investigations are ongoing to identify other members of the gang operating across the country.

On March 20, the Supreme Court verbally remarked that certain entities on social media who act as blackmailers in the garb of being media persons are no less than fraudulent persons who commit "digital arrest".

The remark came when the Solicitor General of India (SGI) Tushar Mehta stated before a bench led by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant that certain persons on social media who run tabloids and other platforms act as blackmailers.

The bench agreed with SG Mehta and expressed that it's an alternative form of committing "digital arrest".

"It is another format of something like digital arrest. Unfortunately, still not being treated as a crime", the CJI remarked.

The Court was hearing a public interest litigation plea flagging the actions of the Police of the States of Haryana, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Assam in uploading media such as photos and short-form videos (reels) depicting accused persons being handcuffed, tied by ropes, beaten with sticks, kneeling on the floor, dragged or pulled down a flight of stairs etc. on their official pages/handles on 'Instagram'.

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