- By Shubham Bajpai
- Tue, 17 Jun 2025 07:59 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
The Delhi Police have arrested a government employee posted at Rashtrapati Bhavan for duping his colleague of Rs 24.4 lakh by exploiting his lack of familiarity with mobile banking apps, the officials said on Tuesday.
The accused, identified as Prakash Singh worked in the same department as the victim, Surender Kumar, a 59-year-old chief household assistant in the household section of the President's Estate.
Providing details about the incident, Deputy Commissioner of Police Devesh Mahla said, "Prakash used his proximity to the victim, who worked in the same section, to frequently access his mobile phone under various pretexts. Taking advantage of the victim's unfamiliarity with digital apps, Singh installed a mobile payment application on his phone and quietly linked it to his bank accounts."
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He secretly used the app for over three months, during which he allegedly transferred Rs 1 lakh at a time every few days, accumulating a total of Rs 24.40 lakh. To remain undetected, he would delete transaction messages and uninstall the app before handing him the phone, the officer added.
The police also nabbed another accused from Kolkata, identified as Sanjay Chakraborty, for helping Singh by receiving and laundering the stolen money.
The DCP added that the scam came to light after the victim visited the bank. "The incident came to light when the victim discovered during a routine bank visit that ₹24.40 lakh had been withdrawn from his and his wife's bank accounts through unauthorised UPI transactions. Neither Kumar nor his wife had ever used mobile payment apps," the DCP added.
The siphoned money was transferred through multiple accounts before reaching Singh. In the money trail, Chakraborty received over Rs 20 lakh and retained a small commission before transferring it to Singh. Apprehended in Kolkata, Chakraborty confessed during the interrogation, after which Singh was arrested in Delhi.
A case has been registered under Section 318 of BNS and the investigation has been launched. The officer added, "Prakash Singh used the cheated money to fund a lavish lifestyle. He purchased two smartphones, a motorcycle and a laptop, spent ₹2.25 lakh on mobile gaming and cleared personal debts. He also went on vacations and shopping sprees using the stolen funds."
A total of Rs 2.25 lakh was recovered from Singh's bank account. The police have been making efforts to trace the rest of the money. The police is also trying to identify an additional co-conspirator in the laundering.
(With PTI Inputs)
