Thane man duped of ₹71.1 lakh by fraudsters posing as CBI officers

A 42-year-old man from Maharashtra’s Thane district was allegedly cheated of ₹71.1 lakh by cyber fraudsters who posed as investigators and threatened to implicate him in a fabricated criminal case, police said. The victim, identified as Mahesh Manohar Agarkar , lives in Pandurangwadi in Dombivli East and works for a private company in the MIDC industrial area .

According to police, the fraud began in the first week of March when Agarkar received a call from a person claiming to be an official of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) . The caller alleged that obscene messages had been sent from Agarkar’s mobile phone to several women and claimed that a complaint had been registered at Ghatkopar police station . He further warned that the case was under investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation and that the victim’s phone could be seized as evidence.

Soon afterwards, two individuals identifying themselves as CBI officers contacted him and accused him of suspicious bank transactions and financial irregularities. They claimed that multiple agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate (ED) , would launch a probe into his accounts and warned him of serious legal consequences if he failed to cooperate.

To make their claims appear genuine, the fraudsters sent forged documents purportedly issued by the Supreme Court and insisted that the matter could be “settled” if the victim deposited money temporarily for verification. Acting under pressure and fearing legal action, he transferred funds in several stages, including payments of ₹7 lakh and ₹9 lakh, eventually sending a total of ₹71.1 lakh through online transactions.

The scam surfaced only after Agarkar discussed the transfers with his wife, who questioned the callers and verified the documents, discovering they were fake.

Police have registered a case of cheating under the IT Act at Tilak Nagar police station against suspects Sandeep Kumar Rao and Karan Sharma. Investigators are now tracing the financial trail and working to identify other members of the fraud network.