Pune Cyber Crime: Gang Cheats Company of Rs 1.95 Crore by Impersonating Owner on WhatsApp, 5 Arrested
Pune, 22nd September 2026: Pune City Cyber Police have arrested five members of a gang accused of cheating a company of ₹1.95 crore by impersonating its owner on WhatsApp and instructing its accounts manager to transfer money to two bank accounts.
The case was registered at the Cyber Police Station under Sections 319(2), 318(4), 61(2) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with Section 66(D) of the Information Technology Act.
According to police, the accused contacted the company’s accounts manager through WhatsApp and pretended to be the company owner. They directed the manager to transfer ₹1.95 crore to two bank accounts, claiming that the money was required for company-related work.
Police immediately contacted all banks through which the defrauded money had been routed and had the relevant accounts debit-frozen and lien-marked. Of the total amount, ₹95 lakh had initially been transferred to an Axis Bank account. Investigators traced subsequent transfers from that account and analysed bank records, email addresses and mobile phone data, leading to the arrests.
“One of the five arrested accused, Rohan Rameshwar Jadhav, a resident of Sambhajinagar, was found to have a China connection. The trail of transactions involving the remaining ₹1 crore is being investigated,” Senior Police Inspector Swapnali Shinde said.
She added that police had secured ₹47,69,171 of the defrauded amount for restitution through a court order. A proposal for the return of another ₹2,57,000 was submitted through the government’s MRM portal, taking the total amount secured or processed for restitution to ₹50,26,171.
The operation was conducted under the guidance of Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Tejaswi Satpute, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Economic and Cyber Crimes) Vivek Masal, and ACP, Shubhada Sankhe.
The team included Police Inspector Sangita Devkate, Police Sub-Inspector Sushil Dumare, and police personnel Sandesh Karne, Rajudas Chavan, Prashant Borhade, Pravinsingh Rajput, Sheetal Dange, Shrikrishna Nagtilak, Sonali Chavan, Satish Mandhare and Krishna Markad.
Pune City Cyber Police also cautioned citizens against online scams involving promises of high returns from share trading, “digital arrest” threats, claims about drugs found in parcels, MSEB and MNGL frauds, online bank KYC requests and purported online SIR updates. Citizens receiving such threatening or enticing messages were advised to contact the nearest police station immediately.
Police also urged company owners to maintain regular communication with officers and employees working in their accounts departments to prevent fraudsters from issuing unauthorised payment instructions by impersonating senior executives.
