IT Graduates Fall Victim to Job Scams in Pune; Company-Agent Nexus Uncovered

Jaydeep Jadhav, a 26-year-old software engineer from Nagpur, was the first in his family to transition from traditional farming to a corporate career. In July 2025, he secured a job with Pune-based QuantumSoft Technologies through a placement agency. The agency promised him a position in a software company with an annual salary of ₹10 lakh, for which he had to pay ₹3.5 lakh as a placement and training fee.

Jadhav borrowed the money from his family in Bhandara, Vidarbha, where they cultivate paddy, hoping to return the loan after securing a job. However, his hopes were dashed when salaries began to be delayed. Employees were repeatedly assured that new projects were on the horizon, but the company shut down operations in February 2026.

"Not only am I debt-ridden now, but after getting a good job, my family fixed a marital alliance for me, which now stands postponed," said Jadhav. He registered an FIR against Nikhileshwar Kshirsagar, CEO of QuantumSoft Technologies, who was subsequently arrested by Viman Nagar police in March. Investigations revealed that at least 76 job aspirants were cheated of approximately ₹1.52 crore by the company.

Jadhav's is not a singular case. The widespread malaise involving IT firms and placement agencies that con young hopefuls out of their money came into the spotlight when Pune police registered criminal cases against owners of QuantumSoft Technologies and ThynkTech India between March and June 2026.

The Forum for IT Employees and Freshers (FITE), an organization that works to protect employee rights in the tech sector, claims to have received over 4000 complaints over the last three months from similarly affected people who were employed in IT companies in and around Pune. Apart from QuantumSoft Technologies and ThynkTech India, other names that feature in the list are Flynaut SaaS, Accrue Tech, Radiant Technology, Gtasterix, and Kavya Tech.

In October 2025, the Hinjawadi police arrested Upesh Patil, owner of Flynaut SaaS, after receiving complaints from young IT professionals who alleged that the company took money from them and fired them within a few months. In April 2026, Accrue Tech’s owner Amol Mahadik was arrested after police received similar allegations from ex-employees. More recently, on June 3, a case was registered against ThynkTech India’s CEO Harshal Thakare and two others, following complaints from former employees, leading to Thakare’s arrest.

Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Wanganekar, who is investigating the ThynkTech case, said, "Initial probe suggests the accused took ₹15,000 each from interns for providing laptops. They were promised ₹15,000 per month after two months of unpaid internships. The young engineers who have approached us till now were not paid salaries for at least three months." He added that while the case was registered earlier this month, fresh recruits had been victimized since September 2025.

Kolhapur-based Abhishek Belekar, 28, joined Data Tech Lab in Bavdhan in 2024 after paying ₹1.5 lakh to a placement company. He joined the company with an annual salary of ₹3 lakh but was removed from the job after three months with his dues held back. "More than 10 people faced similar circumstances – all of them compelled to leave without their dues being cleared," said Belekar. "This is a fraudulent company which has tied up with several consultancy firms that dupe job seekers in this way," he alleged.

He and his colleagues approached Pune police with a complaint in October 2025, following which Data Tech’s owner Amit Andre was arrested. Belekar is now back in Kolhapur looking for a suitable job.

Likewise, Santosh Jathar, a computer science graduate from Karad, Satara district, paid ₹2.10 lakh to a consultancy agency before joining Flynaut SaaS in Hinjawadi. After an initial smooth run, salaries of new recruits were stopped, although projects continued to be assigned, with repeated assurances that arrears would be cleared soon. When the company failed to keep its promise, Jathar quit his job. While he shied away from approaching the police, his colleague Rahul Shinde and others, who had paid ₹2.90 lakh each to Flynaut SaaS through a placement agency, filed a police complaint against the company’s owners, Upesh Patil and Poonam Patil, and the agent Rohan Ambulkar.

An officer from Hinjawadi police station said, "At least 14 people were duped by the company. The accused have defrauded IT freshers of a total of ₹24 lakh." While Upesh Patil was arrested, the other two accused are still at large.

"They did not have any live projects and were asking us to work on dummy projects," alleged Jathar. "I have exhausted all my savings and lost faith in placement agencies," he said, adding that unwilling to take a chance, he has joined his uncle’s fabrication business in Karad.

However, unlike Shinde, Belekar, and Jadhav, not everyone has the courage to approach the police – some fear being embroiled in lengthy legal proceedings, while others are anxious about how it would affect their future employment opportunities.

Pavanjeet Mane, president of FITE Maharashtra, said the reported cases are only a tip of the iceberg. "Over 4,000 fresh IT employees have approached us in similar circumstances. We are collecting documents to fortify the cases," said Mane. The organization has also written to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis seeking the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the recruitment scam.

He alleged candidates are charged between ₹50,000 to ₹5 lakh by the agencies and are allegedly placed in companies that either fail to provide regular salaries, shut down operations, or terminate employees after a short period. "Those who have managed to escape the police net have simply shifted operations under different names after shutting down existing entities," Mane alleged. "While 4,000 freshers have shared their experiences with us, the overall number of victims across Maharashtra could exceed 10,000."

Pradip Jadhav, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 2), Pimpri-Chinchwad Police, said, "We are treating the complaints as top priority. The ThynkTech India case surfaced when several freshers who were cheated complained about the firm’s owner. The prime accused has been arrested, and the search is on to locate the other suspects."

The labour department has also received an increasing number of complaints, confirmed Deputy Labour Commissioner Nikhil Walke. "We have initiated an independent inquiry into these allegations; action will be taken accordingly," he said.