Fraudulent fundraiser Jay Singh Rathore, who fooled X users, arrested in Agra: Police | India News

A man behind a fraudulent fundraising appeal on X, which had initially drawn sympathy and donations from people, has been arrested, Agra Police said on Friday.The accused, Ajayveer Singh alias Jay Singh Rathore who raised ₹1.5 lakh, was arrested based on a complaint that he falsely claimed his 12-year-old sister was unwell, prepared forged documents citing treatment for her eyes, played on public sympathy, and improperly raised funds through crowdfunding, the police said.In a post in Hindi on X, Agra Police said: “A complaint was received regarding the individual named Ajayveer Singh alias Jai Singh Rathore, who, through social media, falsely claimed that his 12-year-old sister was suffering from a disease like ‘Glaucoma’/‘Vitreous Hemorrhage,’ prepared forged documents in the name of treatment for her eyes, played with the emotions of the general public, and improperly obtained funds (Crowd Funding) from people.”It added: “The Bah Police Station immediately took cognizance of the said complaint and, based on the received written report, registered a case against the concerned individual under relevant sections, arrested the accused, and further legal proceedings are underway.” According to several X users, Singh also joined several Spaces sessions on X to lure donations.Initially, Singh claimed that the money was being sought for his sister’s eye-surgery. As public scepticism mounted over his claims, he broke down and said it was his father who was sick and he used his sister’s name to maximise reach online.Though people refused to believe his explanation, he maintained that his family was facing financial distress and he raised the money to help his father.Also Read | ₹1.5 lakh scam on X">Why is ‘Jay Singh Rathore’ trending? 5 things about the alleged ₹1.5 lakh scam on XHow it startedA heartbreaking post on the X profile of "Jay Singh Rathore" appealed to people to help fund his sister's surgery, with him later claiming to have raised over ₹1.5 lakh in donations. While online users initially responded with sympathy and welcomed the collection, some soon began pointing out discrepancies in the reports and prescriptions he had shared. In a now-deleted thread, he had claimed his sister was being treated at Shroff Eye Centre.Claim bustedAs the controversy erupted, Shroff Eye Centre issued a clarification, posting an Instagram story that included a picture of the prescription along with a screenshot of Jay Singh Rathore's original post on X.“Alert. It has come to our knowledge that some person/s has created a fake patient, prescription and estimate sheet on our letterheads and is asking NGOs and individuals on WhatsApp for help. Please be aware and SHARE to prevent people from becoming victims of this deception,” the hospital said.Cornered by allegations on X Spaces, Jay Singh Rathore said he never meant to scam anyone and blurted out that the funds were actually for his father. As angry donors turned up the heat, the man desperately began promising refunds.Did he return the money?Throughout multiple X Spaces broadcasts, numerous users actively engaged with Jay Singh Rathore and provided him with the donors' UPI credentials and demanded that he return the collected funds. In response, he posted a series of payment screenshots to those participants, insisting he had already reimbursed a portion of the contributors.Subsequently, one of the users shared a bank account screenshot online, which purportedly showed that Jay Singh Rathore’s total balance had dropped from ₹1,58,282.58 down to ₹1,37,893.58.