Within 60 days, the authorities attached and auctioned a Volkswagen Virtus car bought with allegedly defrauded funds, enabling the victim to receive Rs 11.3 lakh from the proceeds, Assistant Commissioner of Police (West) Abhilaksh Joshi said on Tuesday. (Express Photo)Gurgaon Police have achieved what they say is India’s first direct compensation to a victim of fraud from the “proceeds of crime” under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS).Within 60 days, the authorities attached and auctioned a Volkswagen Virtus car bought with allegedly defrauded funds, enabling the victim to receive Rs 11.3 lakh from the proceeds, Assistant Commissioner of Police (West) Abhilaksh Joshi said on Tuesday.A case of cheating and extortion had been registered at Sector 10A police station, after the complainant alleged that the accused, Dhruv Panwar, a 35-year-old photographer from Jaipur, defrauded her of Rs 14.5 lakh.“An FIR was lodged in the first week of January under Section 69 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), as the allegations included false promise to marry apart from cheating and extortion. We nabbed the accused quickly,” Station House Officer Inspector Kuldeep Singh told The Indian Express.Section 69 deals with “Sexual intercourse by employing deceitful means, etc.”. It says: “Whoever, by deceitful means or by making promise to marry to a woman without any intention of fulfilling the same, has sexual intercourse with her, such sexual intercourse not amounting to the offence of rape, shall be punished with imprisonment… (up to) ten years and shall also be liable to fine.”Investigations showed the accused had used the complainant’s money to purchase the car, officials said. He was produced before a court on January 21, which asked him whether the VW had been purchased using proceeds received as a consequence of the alleged offence committed against the complainant.According to the order, the accused admitted that he had indeed bought the car with money that came to him as a consequence of the alleged offence.Story continues below this adHe also confirmed that he was the registered owner of the vehicle, and had no objection to its attachment or to the proceeds of its sale being distributed to persons affected by the alleged offence under Section 107 of the BNSS.Section 107 BNSS empowers a court to attach property believed to be proceeds of crime during investigation (following an application filed by police), issue notices, and order attachment after hearing.Under Section 107(6), the court can “direct the District Magistrate to rateably distribute such proceeds of crime to the persons who are affected by such crime”. Following such an order, the DM “shall, within a period of sixty days distribute the proceeds of crime” to the victim, typically after an auction. (Section 107(7)).“Following the attachment order, the Gurgaon Police coordinated through the District Magistrate’s office – public notice was issued, and the car was auctioned on the government’s e-auction portal, fetching a highest bid of Rs 11.3 lakh,” ACP Joshi said. “On February 26, the court was informed of the sale, and the cheque for the proceeds was handed directly to the complainant in court,” he said.Story continues below this adA spokesperson for Gurgaon Police described the action as historic, and a model of victim-centric justice under the new criminal laws.The criminal trial of the accused Panwar is continuing separately. “We will be freezing his accounts, and use other avenues available to try and recover the rest of the money,” Joshi said.Abhimanyu Hazarika is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express, based in Gurgaon. He covers southern Haryana. Education - Post-Graduate Diploma in Print Media, Asian College of Journalism (Class of 2020) - B.A. (Hons) Liberal Arts with a major in Political Science, Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts (Class of 2019) Professional Experience Before joining The Indian Express, he worked with Bar & Bench (legal journalism) and Frontline magazine, where he developed experience in court reporting, legal analysis, and long-form investigative features. Reporting Interests His work centres on civic accountability, environmental policy, urban infrastructure and culture, crime and law enforcement, and their intersections with politics and governance in and around Gurgaon. Recent Coverage (2025) - Crime: Reported on the recovery of 350 kg of explosives and an AK-47 from a rented house in Faridabad, linked to the 2025 Red Fort car explosion case (November 11, 2025). - Environmental policy: Covered protests outside a Haryana minister’s residence against a Supreme Court order that environmentalists argue could allow mining and real estate development on large parts of the Aravalli hills (December 21, 2025). - Pollution control measures: Co-authored coverage of the Rekha Gupta government’s enforcement of vehicle restrictions at Delhi-NCR borders (December 21, 2025). - Road safety and infrastructure: Examined response lapses in the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway hit-and-run case and ongoing investigations into high-speed road crimes in Gurugram. - Animal welfare policy: Reported on concerns regarding the low budget allocated for stray dog sterilization by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (November 30, 2025). - Urban culture: Featured the social media-driven popularity of a new Magnolia Bakery outlet in Gurugram (December 15, 2025). 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