Delhi Police nabs man in Rs 15 crore Covid-19 vaccine scam

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police has arrested Prafulla Kumar Nayak, a man who had been on the run for nearly three years in connection with a Rs 15 crore fraud case, an official confirmed on Friday.

Nayak, who had posed as an officer from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, was a key figure in deceiving victims by promising them work orders for the transportation of Covid-19 vaccines during the pandemic, according to an EOW statement.

The case began in 2022 following a complaint from Sunil Kaushik, who alleged that he was swindled of Rs 4 crore under the false promise of securing government contracts for vaccine transportation.

“Four additional complaints revealed a similar modus operandi, with the accused defrauding victims of more than Rs 15 crore in total,” said Additional Commissioner of Police (EOW) Amrutha Guguloth.

Also Read: Delhi Polls: Excise teams seize 20,000 illicit liquor bottles worth Rs 50 lakh

The investigation found that in May 2021, the accused deceived victims by arranging meetings at Nirman Bhawan, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s headquarters. Forged work orders were issued, and trust was gained through unauthorized access to the government building, which was facilitated by a bribed ministry employee.

Nayak, 48, was arrested by the EOW on Tuesday, police said.

In 2022, eight other suspects, including the mastermind Hermenn Sabherwal, had been arrested. Ministry employees, including a reception officer and two multi-tasking staff members, had already been apprehended for their roles in the scam.

Nayak, a resident of Pandav Nagar in Delhi and originally from Odisha, had facilitated the group’s entry into Nirman Bhawan. He also posed as a ministry official and managed financial transactions through two organizations led by one of the arrested suspects, Pawan Rai. The investigation is ongoing.

(With inputs from PTI)