Overview

• The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police arrested Prashant Agarwal, Director of HPPL Foundation, and Sudhanshu Kumar Rakesh, a chartered accountant, for defrauding MeitY's SAMRIDH scheme of ₹3.04 crore.
• Investigators revealed the funds, meant for eight startups, were diverted for personal use, with fake utilisation certificates submitted to conceal the fraud.
• Agarwal also allegedly collected ₹11 lakh from startups under false pretenses of facilitating fund disbursement, which never occurred.
• Digital and documentary evidence, including templates of forged certificates, were recovered during searches at the accused's premises.
• Both accused remain in custody as the EOW continues to trace the misused funds and identify additional beneficiaries involved in the scheme.