Man held for floating ponzi scheme, duping over 500 of ₹8 lakh in Delhi

Police have identified the arrested man as Rajesh Kumar Bhartiya.

Delhi Police on Monday claimed to have arrested a 45-year-old man for allegedly running a ponzi scheme and cheating more than 500 people on the pretext of providing them rations for a period of 15 months. Senior police officers said the suspected con man collected ₹1,500 from each person to fraudulently enrol them as a member of an NGO named “Target Welfare Association” to avail of rations and later fled with the money. Till date, over 500 people have been duped of more than ₹8 lakh cumulatively, police said.

The DCP said during investigation, it was established that Bhartiya is the key accused who is running the ponzi scheme and he is also the beneficiary of the money duped from people (Getty Images)

Police have identified the arrested man as Rajesh Kumar Bhartiya. Senior police officers said the forgery came to light when multiple complaints were received against the “NGO Target Welfare Association” that despite paying ₹1,500 and enrolling for free distribution of ration -- flour, rice, sugar, and refined oil etc -- for 15 months, the NGO did not give any ration.

Deputy commissioner of police (economic offences wing) Mohammad Ali said preliminary probe revealed that the NGO is run by one Rajesh Kumar Bhartiya and his associates. “It was also found that the same NGO was running similar schemes in the areas of Jhandewalan, Pratap Nagar, Manakpura, Kishanganj, Mukundpur, Dabri etc. Complainants further alleged that the NGO is neither supplying the ration nor answering the phone since the membership amount was paid. A case of cheating was registered, and investigation was taken up,” Ali said.

The DCP said during investigation, it was established that Bhartiya is the key accused who is running the ponzi scheme and he is also the beneficiary of the money duped from people. “When our teams tried to contact him, he never joined the investigation and frequently changed his address. With the help of technical surveillance, our teams managed to zero in on him in Nangloi and he was arrested on Friday following a search,” the officer said.

During questioning, police found that Bhartiya and his associates have cheated at least 535 persons so far by enrolling them in their NGO. “They initially used to distribute some ration but later would flee with the membership amount and change their contact details,” a police office said, adding that efforts were on to arrest the remaining suspects.