Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [india], June 19 : In a swift and sensitive operation, the Amroli police in Surat rescued a woman in her 30s who was allegedly on the verge of ending her life after being trapped in a cyber blackmail case that spiralled into domestic violence, an official statement said.
Acting on a tip-off about a possible suicide attempt, police teams rushed to the woman's residence and then to the banks of the Tapi River, where she was found in a distressed state.
The officers intervened and rescued her just moments before she could take the fatal plunge.
According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 5) Lakhadhirsinh Zala, the woman was later taken to the police station for counselling and inquiry, where she disclosed that she had been subjected to physical abuse by her husband, a migrant labourer.
Seeking answers, the police summoned the husband for questioning. However, his explanation completely shifted the trajectory of the case, exposing a sinister cybercrime and prompting authorities to launch a multi-state manhunt.
The police official said, "As soon as we received the tip-off about the impending suicide, our team moved fast and saved her life," said Lakhadhirsinh Zala, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Zone 5, Surat City."
He added, "But it was only when we brought her husband in for questioning that the true cause of the woman's agony was revealed."
DCP Zala said the probe showed that the woman had come into contact with a man on Instagram, who allegedly recorded her in a compromising situation and began blackmailing her. The accused reportedly threatened to circulate the video on social media unless his demands were met. In a further escalation, he allegedly sent the video to her husband, which led to severe marital discord and violence.
Realising the woman was a victim of a targeted cybercrime, the Surat police immediately mobilised. A special team was initially dispatched to Bihar to apprehend the suspect, but the tech-savvy fugitive managed to slip away to Chhattisgarh.
The police used technical surveillance to track his movements.
"The accused, identified as Arjun alias Montu Upadhyay, is a semi-skilled labourer who frequently moved across states looking for work," DCP Zala stated.
"Our surveillance placed him in Telbandha village in Chhattisgarh. Our team went undercover, blending into the village without uniforms to gather intelligence. Finally, we nabbed him and brought him back to Surat."
Upadhyay has been booked under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology (IT) Act. He is currently remanded in judicial custody.
While justice was being delivered in the interrogation room, the Surat Police took an additional step to repair the damage inflicted on the victim's personal life.
Recognising that the husband's anger stemmed from manipulation and a lack of understanding, the police conducted a detailed counselling session for him. They presented the facts of the digital trap, establishing the wife's complete innocence and explaining how she had been victimised.
The intervention proved effective. Realising his mistake, the husband embraced his wife, and the couple has since reconciled. Thanks to the police's holistic approach, a dangerous digital predator was arrested, a life was saved, and a marriage was restored, the release stated.