Pune Cyber Police Bust ‘Digital Arrest’ Scam; Two Arrested for Defrauding Senior Citizen of Rs 10.74 Crore
Reported by Mubarak Ansari
Pune, 28th February 2026: In a major crackdown on cyber fraud, the Pune City Cyber Police arrested two young men for allegedly duping a senior citizen of ₹10.74 crore. The fraudsters used the increasingly common ‘digital arrest’ tactic, posing as Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officers to extort money from the victim.
According to the police, the unidentified callers initially contacted the senior citizen and falsely informed him that his bank account was implicated in a registered crime. Under the pretext of a “digital arrest,” the impersonators threatened the victim, claiming that he and his family members would be arrested immediately.
Panic-stricken and fearing for his family’s safety, the victim was coerced into transferring all of his savings and investments to various bank accounts provided by the accused. The fraudsters convinced him that the transfer was necessary to keep his funds “safe” during the investigation. In total, the victim was swindled out of ₹10,74,65,000 (Ten Crore Seventy-Four Lakh Sixty-Five Thousand Rupees).
An FIR (CR No. 14/2026) was registered at the Cyber Police Station under sections 308(2), 319(2), 318(4), and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with sections 66© and 66(D) of the Information Technology Act.
During the investigation, a team led by Senior Police Inspector Swapnali Shinde conducted a detailed technical analysis of the bank accounts where the extorted money was deposited. The probe revealed that cash withdrawals were being made from specific ATMs. By scrutinizing CCTV footage from these locations and utilizing technical intelligence, the investigation team laid a trap and successfully apprehended the two suspects.
The arrested accused have been identified as:
- Harshad Subhash Dhantole (23), currently residing at Vikas Mitra Mandal Chowk, Karvenagar, Pune (Originally from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar).
- Samarth Suresh Deshmukh (24), currently residing at Lane No. 1, Anand Colony, Karvenagar, Pune (Originally from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar).
Following the arrests, the police managed to freeze ₹40 lakh routed into the fraudulent bank accounts and seized ₹4,78,500 in cash directly from the accused. Further investigation into the network is ongoing.
The successful operation was executed under the guidance of Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Pankaj Deshmukh and Deputy Commissioner of Police (Economic & Cyber) Vivek Masal. The investigating team included Senior PI Swapnali Shinde, PI Sangita Devkate, Assistant PI Archana Katke, Sub-Inspectors Sushil Damre and Ajit Bade, and police personnel Krishnakant Desai, Ravindra Salvi, Gangadhar Kale, Navnath Konde, Chavan, Rajput, Ramane, Sachin Shinde, Vijay Bhosale, Janhavi Bhadekar, Kiran Gaikwad, Supriya Holkar, Lokeshwari Katke, Adnan Shaikh, Bhandalkar, Mandare, Markad, and Hambir.
