Pune: A 52-year-old retired bank employee was duped of over ₹4.06 crore by his sister-in-law’s son under the pretext of a good return after getting a reward of ₹38 crore with the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).
The Parvati Police have registered an FIR against five accused: Shubham Sunil Prabhale (main accused), Sunil Babanrao Prabhale (father), Omkar Sunil Prabhale (brother), Prashant Rajendra Prabhale (brother), and Bhagyeshree Sunil Prabhale (mother), under relevant sections of the BNS related to cheating and criminal conspiracy.
According to the police, the complainant, Suryakant Dattatray Thorat, a resident of Vijayee Chaitanya Society in Dattawadi and a retired employee from Saraswat Bank’s Somwar Peth branch, filed a police complaint regarding the matter.
In the First Information Report, Thorat alleged that in 2020 and 2024, the main accused, Shubham Prabhale, lured him with promises of good returns once he received ₹38 crore as a reward for serving secretly in RAW.
To strengthen their deception, the accused even organised a fake conference call using Home Minister Amit Shah’s name to win Thorat’s trust.
Later, Shubham asked him for money to clear defence ministry applications, legal fees, travel to Delhi and gifts for senior officials to get the reward cleared at the earliest.
Nandkumar Gaikwad, Senior Police Inspector of Parvati Police Station, speaking to The Free Press Journal, said, "Acting on trust, the victim not only gave his own savings but also sold his flat, car, and other property and borrowed money from acquaintances to pay the accused. Transactions included both cash and direct bank transfers."
Investigations revealed that, taking advantage of trust and relations, the accused siphoned a total of ₹4,06,07,355 from him.
When the promised reward never materialised despite four years of payments, Thorat finally lodged a complaint with Parvati police on September 15, 2025.
"Shubham is unemployed and travels from one state to another. Family members were aware of the conspiracy. To gain trust, his family members always gave him a grand welcome for 'serving in national security agencies' whenever he returned home every 3–4 months," added Gaikwad.
Meanwhile, the matter has been transferred to the EOW department, and accordingly, action will be taken after investigation, Gaikwad further said.
