Ahmedabad cyber crime busts SIM card racket linked to Chinese ‘digital arrest’ gang, 2 held

In a breakthrough against cross-border online fraud, the Ahmedabad City Cyber Crime Branch has arrested two men from Maharashtra and Karnataka for allegedly supplying hundreds of mobile SIM cards to a Chinese cyber gang that extorted money from victims through a scam known as 'digital arrest'.

According to officials, the arrests follow a complaint filed in June by a city resident who was duped of ₹86.22 lakh. The victim was telephoned by a caller posing as a law enforcement officer and falsely accused of money laundering. The caller then sent a forged Supreme Court summons, kept the victim under 24-hour surveillance via video calls, and threatened arrest unless the money was transferred.

Technical trail leads to two states

Working under the direction of Police Commissioner G S Malik, a team led by the Cyber Cell officials used technical analysis and human intelligence to trace the SIM cards used in the crime. Investigators discovered that the cards were procured in bulk through a fake company and then handed to the Chinese gang.

The two arrested men have been identified as: Rishikesh aka Rishabh Bhalchand Hasurkar (27), originally from Kolhapur, Maharashtra, a mechatronics (robotics) engineering graduate, now living in Dombivli, Thane, and Suresh Rajubhai Gudimani, from Belagavi district, Karnataka, is also currently based in Dombivli.

Police said both men were already lodged in Panna District Jail in Madhya Pradesh in connection with other cyber-fraud cases when they were formally taken into custody in Ahmedabad.

Fake firms and thousands of SIMs

Investigators revealed that the duo set up three shell companies – Star Multi Solution, Hasurkar Ventures Pvt Ltd, and Heiqian Multi Management Pvt Ltd – in the names of other people. Through these entities, they allegedly obtained around 550 SIM cards, later reactivating and recycling blacklisted cards, and ultimately handing over about 2,500 SIMs to an agent identified only as 'HR Danny' at Mumbai International Airport.

These SIMs were allegedly used by a Chinese cyber gang to perpetrate digital arrest scams across India. In such scams, victims receive a call from someone impersonating a police or government official, are sent bogus court documents and then terrorised via video calls into transferring large sums of money.

Broader criminal history

Police said the two accused also face cases in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, including offences under the Information Technology Act and sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to fraud and forgery.