New Delhi [India], May 13 : The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police has arrested two individuals for allegedly defrauding the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) of more than Rs 3 crores.
The accused have been identified as Prashant Agarwal, Director of HPPL Foundation and a resident of Bengaluru, and Sudhanshu Kumar Rakesh, a Chartered Accountant and partner at Tripurari & Associates from Nalanda, Bihar.
Delhi Police's EOW DCP, Amit Verma, said that the arrests follow the registration of an FIR dated April 24, based on a complaint by Rashi Sharma, a representative of MeitY Startup Hub (MSH), which is a division of the Digital India Corporation under the Ministry.
As per the complaint, HPPL Foundation was selected as one of the start-up accelerators under the SAMRIDH Scheme, which was designed to provide funding and support to selected start-ups.
MSH had disbursed Rs 3.04 crores to HPPL Foundation for the benefit of eight startups, in addition to administrative fees per start-up.
It was later discovered that the funds were not passed on to the intended beneficiaries. Instead, Agarwal allegedly misappropriated the amount for personal use. To mask the misappropriation, he submitted fake Utilisation Certificates that were fraudulently certified in the name of Chartered Accountant Sudhanshu Kumar Rakesh.
Further inquiry revealed that Agarwal also collected approximately Rs. 11 lakhs from start-ups under the false promise of facilitating government funding.
Agarwal was arrested in Bengaluru, Karnataka, on April 30. A search of his residence led to the recovery of incriminating digital evidence, including forged documents and communications related to the diversion of funds.
Agarwal's interrogation led to the arrest of Rakesh from his residence in Patna, Bihar, on May 7. At his premises, investigators found a computer containing templates of forged Utilisation Certificates and rubber stamps used in the fabrication of documents.
According to the EOW, both individuals operated with dishonest intentions from the outset, causing significant financial loss to the MeitY Startup Hub and the affected start-ups.
Further investigation into the case is ongoing.