Fictitious ‘son’ of US-based NRI tries to sell his properties in Gurgaon – and is nabbed as he lands in Delhi from the UK

Almost three years on, Gurgaon Police swooped on this purported “son” at Delhi Airport – as he arrived from London on Monday (November 17).

31-year-old Lakhwinder Singh, the main accused in the alleged international fraud, was arrested by the Gurgaon Police’s Economic Offences Wing-I at the Indira Gandhi International Airport. A police spokesperson provided details of the allegations against the accused on Tuesday.

“The case involves an attempt to illegally sell two residential properties at Sector-31 [in Gurgaon] worth several crores belonging to a US-based NRI couple by creating a fictitious son, forging passports in France, registering a bogus General Power of Attorney (GPA) in Switzerland, and routing it through diplomatic channels,” the spokesperson said.

Officers said the alleged fraud came to light in January 2023 after the complainant received calls from local property dealers in Gurgaon who informed him that his “son”, Karan Bhatnagar, had accepted Rs 15 lakh as advance for the two houses in Sector-31, and that they were about to transfer Rs 1 crore to Karan by real time gross settlement (RTGS).

The horrified NRI told the callers that he and his wife had no son, and they had never executed any power of attorney (POA) in favour of anyone.

“When shown documents, including a GPA (general power of attorney), possession letter, and passport copies of “Karan Bhatnagar”, he (the complainant) realised that a massive fraud was underway.

“On approaching the Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP, formerly Haryana Urban Development Authority, or HUDA), he learnt that the properties had already been transferred in March 2021 in the name of Lakhwinder Singh on the basis of the forged GPA,” the spokesperson said.

A first information report (FIR) was registered at the Sadar police station, and the case was transferred to the Economic Offences Wing for investigation.

It was found that the forged GPA was registered at the Gurgaon collector’s office, and was attached to the property file at the HSVP office, enabling the transfer in favour of Lakhwinder Singh, officers said.

During raids at the home of Lakhwinder, who studied until Class 12 in Hayatpur Rudki village in Nawanshahr in Punjab, police found that he had left for the United Kingdom in October 2022 on a dependent visa along with his wife who was on a student visa.

Central agencies were involved in the case, and his movements were tracked, officers said. After Lakhwinder’s UK dependent visa expired in September 2025, he was deported – and he walked straight into the police net.

“Lakhwinder Singh was produced before a Gurugram court on Tuesday and remanded in police custody for detailed interrogation. Investigation is continuing to identify other members of the gang operating from abroad,” the police spokesperson said.