India, July 29 -- India could soon draft a new law to criminalise "digital arrest" scams, the government told the Supreme Court on Tuesday, as the top court pushed for asset attachment powers and a standalone offence to tackle a fraud that has extorted at least Rs.3,000 crore from Indians.

The disclosure by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, together with Chief Justice of India Surya Kant's call for special legal provisions, marks the sharpest escalation yet in a 12-month judicial response to a category of cybercrime that impersonates police, the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Enforcement Directorate or customs to hold victims - many of them elderly - on continuous video calls until they surrender their money.

Indians lost Rs.22,845....