A fifth Information Technology (IT) company in Maharashtra‘s Pune has abruptly shut down in the last eight months, leaving between 700 and 1,000 employees jobless in the latest closure and bringing the total number of IT workers affected across the city to an estimated 4,000–5,000. The most recent collapse, Thynk Tech India OPC Pvt Ltd, based in Hinjewadi, prompted a criminal probe and the arrest of its owner and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Harshal Thakare, on cheating charges, according to a detailed report of The Indian Express.

CEO arrested; investigation widens

Hinjewadi senior police inspector Balaji Pandhare told The Indian Express that Harshal Thakare was arrested after multiple complaints and remanded to police custody until June 8. “We have arrested the owner Harshal Thakare for cheating the employees in the name of providing job and collecting money from them,” Pandhare said. Police said they have also identified other accused individuals and are searching for them while probing whether more people were involved.

An FIR was registered under provisions for criminal breach of trust and cheating in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) after a 25‑year‑old intern filed a complaint. “Till now over 30 interns and employees have approached us and more are coming forward,” the police said, adding that the company’s registered head office is in Noida while its divisional office operated from Hinjewadi Phase‑2. Investigators named the CEO, the company’s head of training and development, and a female HR manager in the complaint.

Security deposit for laptops, unpaid stipends and salaries

Assistant Inspector Sachin Wanganekar, who is leading the investigation, said initial findings indicate interns were charged Rs 15,000 each for a laptop and were promised a stipend of Rs 15,000 per month after a two‑month unpaid internship. “The young engineers who have approached us till now have not been paid salaries ranging between one to three months. The duration when the offence took place is between September 2025 till date,” he said.

According to complaints, the firm stopped paying freshers and interns from January despite starting operations in August last year. Employees allege the company repeatedly postponed salary dates and issued bounced cheques. The police confirmed the firm failed to pay salaries for the past five months and had collected Rs 15,000 as a security deposit from many recruits.

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Union group raises alarm over scale and official inaction

Forum for IT Employees (FITE) head Pavanjit Mane said the scheme could be far larger than currently documented and criticised government agencies for remaining silent. “The IT firm collected Rs 15,000 from around 700 interns and freshers. They seemed to have collected the stipend amount from the government which provides such reimbursements to IT firms,” Mane told The Indian Express. He added that state ministries- Industry, Higher Technical Education and Labour- as well as MIDC officials, have not responded to calls for intervention.

Pavanjit Mane said so far his group has concrete information about 700 recruits and estimates the total affected workforce at the firm could be between 700 and 1,000, with three batches of trainee interns reportedly recruited online- each batch having around 125 trainees. “We are still collecting information about exactly how many of them worked for this firm as freshers, interns and trainee interns,” he said.

Fifth closure in 8 months, similar patterns emerge

FITE said this is the fifth IT firm to suddenly close in Pune in the last eight months- three from Hinjewadi and two from the Viman Nagar‑Kharadi belt- and that police complaints have been filed in previous cases. Mane pointed to Flynaut, which shut down four months ago after collecting Rs 1.5 lakh from each employee as a security deposit; he alleged that Flynaut may have been involved in a multi‑crore scam.

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“The modus operandi was to conduct two interviews. Then the candidates are told they are selected but must deposit a security amount,” Mane said, describing a pattern in which start‑ups pay salaries for a couple of months to build trust, then stop payments and vanish.

Workers, many from outside Pune, seek redress

An intern from western Maharashtra said the company’s Hinjewadi office could only accommodate fewer than 50 people and that many recruits appeared to be working remotely. “I have no idea exactly how many were recruited. The firm’s office had space that could accommodate less than 50 people. Most of them it seems were working online,” he said.

So far, 25–30 interns have formally approached the police, the investigators said, and urged others affected to come forward. “A detailed investigation will be carried out into the allegations made by FITE and the interns. If more persons come forward and make complaints, we will investigate them,” Hinjewadi Police said.

What will be the impact on Pune’s IT workforce?

The closure underscores mounting distress in Pune’s IT ecosystem, where an estimated 4,000–5,000 employees have lost jobs due to the sudden shutdown of five firms in recent months. For fresh graduates and early‑career engineers, the combination of security deposits, unpaid stipends and abrupt closures has created financial hardship and uncertainty, compounding anxieties in an already competitive job market.

Police investigations against Thakare and other named officers are ongoing, and authorities will also widen inquiries as more complaints arrive. FITE continues to collect information to map the full scale of the alleged scam and demands action from state and central agencies to protect affected workers and hold perpetrators accountable.