Delhi EOW arrests 44-yr-old man for investment fraud by gaining trust through religious meets

Verma said that Wadhwa’s financial transactions corroborated the victims’ claims and they are currently probing the role of Wadhwa’s associates

NEW DELHI

Police said an FIR was lodged under sections 406, 420, and 120-B of the IPC in 2021. (Representative photo)

The economic offences wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police arrested a 44-year-old man for allegedly duping members of a religious sect of ₹9 crore between 2017 and 2020, under the pretext of investing in high-return schemes. The accused, Mohit Wadhwa alias Manu, a resident of Rajouri Garden, was arrested from Subash Nagar on May 9, police said.

Police said an FIR was lodged under sections 406, 420, and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code on July 27, 2021, based on a complaint from a victim, Gurpreet Kaur Rai, and three other families that were allegedly duped by Wadhwa.

“The victims regularly attended ‘satsang’ at Bade Mandir in Chhattarpur; they alleged that Wadhwa and his associates lured them into investing in dubious schemes, supposedly based in Dubai. Promising lucrative returns, the accused collected over ₹9 crore from the victims between September 2017 and September 2020. However, no return was ever paid, and no investment document was shared with the victims either,” deputy commissioner of police (EOW) Amit Verma said.

“Wadhwa studied up to Class 12 and is married. To amass wealth quickly, he began organising religious gatherings at his residence, drawing in unsuspecting followers. He gained their trust and used their faith to defraud them. During interrogation, Wadhwa admitted to diverting a portion of the collected funds into cryptocurrency and spending the rest on a lavish lifestyle,” the DCP said.

Verma said that Wadhwa’s financial transactions corroborated the victims’ claims and they are currently probing the role of Wadhwa’s associates. Wadhwa is a repeat offender and was previously booked by the EOW in an investment fraud, the DCP said.