Delhi: Two held in Rs 80 lakh online investment fraud; stocks worth Rs 25 lakh frozen

Two men have been arrested for allegedly duping a person of around Rs 80 lakh in an online investment fraud by luring him with promises of high returns from stock market, an officer said on Sunday.

The accused have been identified as Piyush Kumar (31), a resident of Karol Bagh in Delhi, and Jatin Khajotia (31), a resident of Gurugram in Haryana.

Stocks worth approximately Rs 25 lakh linked to the fraud have been frozen under the investigation.

According to police, the case was registered at the Rajinder Nagar police station after a complainant alleged that he was induced to invest substantial sums of money in stock market schemes offering exceptionally high returns.

“Trusting the assurances given by the accused, the complainant transferred around Rs 80 lakh through multiple transactions. However, neither the promised returns nor the invested amount was received, prompting him to approach the police,” a senior police officer said.

The investigation involved scrutiny of bank accounts, transaction records, mobile data and other digital evidence. During the probe, police established the money trail and identified the persons allegedly involved in the fraud, the officer said.

Based on inputs and intelligence gathered during the investigation, Kumar was apprehended from a five-star hotel in Delhi, while Khajotia was arrested from Gurugram on June 17, police said.

During interrogation, the accused allegedly admitted that they had gained the complainant’s confidence and persuaded him to invest large amounts in stock market and investment schemes by promising unusually high returns.

Police said further investigation revealed that a part of the cheated money had been diverted through multiple beneficiary accounts and invested in stock market instruments.

“The disclosures made by the accused helped investigators identify assets linked to the proceeds of crime and establish the financial trail of the funds,” the officer said.

Police have also identified beneficiary accounts connected to the alleged proceeds of crime. Further investigation is underway, police added.