MBA graduate and CA arrested in Delhi for duping IT ministry of over Rs 3 crore

NEW DELHI: Two men, including an MBA graduate and a chartered accountant, have been arrested by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police for allegedly duping the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) of over Rs 3 crore.The accused have been identified as Prashant Agarwal (34) and Sudhanshu Kumar Rakesh (35), residents of Bengaluru and Patna, respectively.The case came to light after police received a complaint from MeitY Startup Hub, an independent body under the ministry, regarding alleged misappropriation of funds under the SAMRIDH scheme.A not-for-profit society, led by its director Agarwal, was chosen as one of the accelerators. As per the scheme's guidelines, the accelerators were expected to provide structured support and facilitate matching funding of up to Rs 40 lakh per startup. MSH was responsible for releasing the funds via the accelerators.According to police, Agarwal's organisation proposed a group of eight startups and expressed its commitment to serve under the scheme. Based on this, MSH disbursed over Rs 3 crore for distribution to the startups.However, investigation revealed that the funds were never disbursed. Instead, Agarwal allegedly submitted fake utilisation certificates — documents verifying how funds or grants are used — bearing the name and seal of CA Rakesh. The documents were used to mislead MSH and cover up the misappropriation of govt funds meant for startup development, said an official.DCP (EOW) Amit Verma said Agarwal was arrested in Bengaluru, and based on his disclosure, Rakesh, his alleged co-conspirator, was arrested in Patna.