Lucknow: Rahul Singh, a 22-year-old drone innovator who was found dead in a city hotel on Tuesday, allegedly duped a man in Basti of Rs 62 lakh by falsely claiming he required funds to complete a drone project for submission to the Govt of India, police said.Police said investigators examining Rahul’s financial dealings came across FIR No. 164/2026, registered at Nagar Police Station in Basti on June 13, 2026, under Sections 316(2) (criminal breach of trust) and 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.According to the FIR, the complainant, Chandrabhushan Mishra, alleged that he first met Rahul Singh in Delhi, where the latter introduced himself as a drone innovator working with the Govt of India.The FIR alleges that Rahul later claimed he was developing a new drone that had to be submitted to the govt within two days, but a critical component had malfunctioned. He allegedly sought Rs 62 lakh, claiming he urgently needed the money to replace the part and warning that he might even have to sell his kidney if financial assistance was not arranged. He allegedly assured the complainant that the entire amount would be repaid within a month.Believing Rahul, the complainant alleged that he transferred the amount to a bank account on Sept 17, 2025, and also handed over two mobile phones purportedly required for drone research.However, when the complainant later demanded the return of his money, Rahul allegedly neither repaid the amount nor honoured his assurances. Instead, the FIR alleges, he began threatening the complainant and sent photographs and videos of himself with influential people in an attempt to intimidate him.“The discovery of the Basti case has now become part of the broader investigation into Rahul Singh’s death, with investigators scrutinising his financial transactions, business dealings and pending criminal allegations to determine whether they have any bearing on the circumstances leading to his death. Police are also examining digital records, banking transactions and communications as part of the ongoing probe,” said a senior police officer privy to the probe.
