Two arrested for Rs 21.46 lakh online investment fraud in Delhi

Two persons have been arrested for allegedly duping a Delhi resident of over Rs 21 lakh on the pretext of high-return online investments and prepaid tasks, police said on Monday.

The police have arrested Narender, 24, and Prem Prakash alias Lovely, 38, both residents of Rajasthan’s Sikar district, they said. Two mobile phones used in the commission of the crime, along with crucial digital evidence, were recovered from them.

According to the police, the case pertains to an online investment fraud in which the complainant was lured into transferring money with promises of lucrative returns. The fraudsters allegedly kept demanding additional payments on various pretexts such as prepaid tasks, account verification and other fabricated charges.

An e-FIR in this regard was registered on November 13, 2025, at the Central district Cyber Police Station under relevant provisions of the BNS, after the victim reported a total loss of Rs 21.46 lakh.

During the investigation, the team tracked financial transactions to uncover the money trail. A suspicious transaction of Rs 3 lakh was traced to a bank account in Sikar, following which the team reached Rajasthan and questioned a man identified as Surender.

He revealed that the money had been routed through his account by Narender, to whom he handed over the amount in cash. Further investigation led to the arrest of Narender, who allegedly passed on Rs 2.8 lakh to Prem Prakash after keeping Rs 20,000 as commission.

Prem Prakash, in turn, handed over Rs 2.6 lakh to another man, Ankit, after retaining Rs 20,000, police said.

Both accused were subsequently apprehended based on technical evidence, statements and field verification.

Efforts are underway to trace the remaining accused, including Ankit, and further investigation is in progress, police added.