Pune l
In a major crackdown, Pune Police Crime Branch raided an illegal call centre operating out of the Pride Icon building on the Kharadi-Mundhwa bypass late Friday night. The call centre, allegedly involved in large-scale cyber fraud targeting U.S. nationals, was found functioning across multiple floors and staffed by over 120 employees.
What the Police Found
Acting on a tip-off, a team led by the Cyber Cell and Crime Branch raided the ninth floor of the building where Magnetel BPS and Consultants LLP was operating. During the raid, police arrested five main accused:
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Sarjitsingh Giravatsingh Shekhawat – Kharadi, from Rajasthan
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Abhishek Ajay Kumar Pandey – originally from Ahmedabad
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Shrimay Paresh Shah – Kharadi, from Ahmedabad
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Laxman Amarshingh Shekhawat – Kharadi, from Ahmedabad
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Aron Aruman Christian – Kharadi, from Ahmedabad
Authorities are on the lookout for three more absconding individuals: Karansingh Sehekhawat, Sanjay More, and Ketan Ravani.
The Modus Operandi
The fake call centre operated from 6 PM to 2 AM, aligning with U.S. time zones. Employees used scripted conversations and VPNs to hide their identity. By impersonating U.S. law enforcement or company representatives, they threatened victims with “digital arrest”—a scare tactic where victims were told their Amazon accounts were being used for criminal activities.
Victims were then coerced into purchasing gift cards, the codes of which were used to siphon funds. According to Joint Commissioner of Police Ranjan Kumar Sharma, the call centre had been operating in Pune since July 2024.
Seized Equipment & Employee Details
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP Crime) Nikhil Pingale confirmed the scale of the operation:
“During the raid, we seized 64 laptops, 41 mobile phones, 4 routers, identity cards of the employees, and scripts — all together valued at ₹13.74 lakh,” he said.
“So far, the accused were found targeting U.S. citizens exclusively, but investigations are ongoing to determine whether citizens of other countries were also targeted.”
A total of 123 employees, including 12 women, were found working at the centre. All are being questioned, and police say legal action will be taken against those found directly involved in fraudulent activities.
Recruitment and Training
The accused reportedly hired staff from multiple states, offering salaries between ₹25,000–30,000 with performance incentives. Educational qualifications weren’t prioritised; instead, workers were trained using scripted English dialogues tailored for U.S. targets.
Employees received daily datasets of up to 1 lakh U.S. contacts for cold-calling. Police are now investigating how this sensitive data was sourced and distributed.
Money Trail and Scale
According to police, the fraud ring earned USD 30,000–40,000 per month, laundering money through hawala networks and cryptocurrency channels. Each of the five arrested ran smaller teams under a larger cyber fraud network. The group had previously operated from Jaipur, Rajasthan, before shifting to Pune to avoid detection.
Legal Action
A case has been registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Sections 316(2), 318(4), 61(1), 3(5), and Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the Information Technology Act.
Pune Police Commissionerate has stated that further arrests are likely, and digital forensics teams are currently analysing the seized devices. Investigations are ongoing to uncover potential international links and whether other countries were also targeted.
If you have received suspicious calls from unknown international numbers, you’re urged to report the incident to Pune Police Cyber Crime Cell.
