Pune: ‘Reel Star’ Held In ₹10.74-Crore Digital Arrest Scam

Pune: The Cyber Police have arrested a 26-year-old alleged member of a cyber fraud syndicate who had been absconding in connection with a ₹10.74-crore “digital arrest” fraud targeting a senior citizen.

The arrested accused has been identified as Rohan Rameshwar Jadhav (26), a resident of Pimple Gurav. Originally from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jadhav had been living in Pimple Nilakh since 2022. He is a BSc graduate and was working as a social media “reel star”.

According to the police, the victim was contacted by fraudsters who claimed that a bank account had been opened using his Aadhaar card in connection with a case registered against businessman Naresh Goyal. The accused allegedly told the senior citizen that 24 people had complained of fraud involving the account and threatened that he and his family members could be arrested.

Using the threat of a “digital arrest”, the accused allegedly forced the victim to transfer his entire investment portfolio to accounts controlled by the fraudsters. The fraud took place between January 23 and 31, 2026.

Police had earlier arrested Harshad Subhash Dhantole (26) of Karvenagar, Samarth Suresh Deshmukh (24) of Karvenagar and Pranav Karansingh Arya (31) of Greater Noida in connection with the case. During their interrogation, Jadhav’s alleged involvement came to light.

Investigators found that 29 cybercrime complaints registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) were linked to bank accounts allegedly used by Jadhav. Police also found that he was in contact with suspected accused persons based in Hong Kong.

A non-bailable warrant had been issued against Jadhav by the court. While tracing him, the Cyber Police examined his bank transactions, financial dealings and links with other members of the syndicate. Based on the evidence collected, he was arrested.

The investigation has revealed that the ₹10.74 crore allegedly siphoned from the senior citizen was transferred through as many as 5,436 bank accounts. Police have so far managed to freeze around ₹1.34 crore of the defrauded amount.

The operation was conducted under the guidance of Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar, Joint Commissioner of Police Sanjay Darade, Additional Commissioner of Police Tejaswi Satpute and Deputy Commissioner of Police Vivek Masal. Senior Police Inspector Swapnali Shinde is conducting the investigation.