PUNE: Harshal Thakre, chief executive officer of ThynkTech India OPC Ltd, has been arrested in connection with an alleged cheating and criminal breach of trust case. The Noida-based IT firm abruptly shut down its Hinjewadi branch on April 22 without any prior notice, leaving over 500 IT engineers, employees, and interns jobless.
According to police, Thakre was apprehended from Nashik on Tuesday night and formally arrested on Wednesday. He was produced before a court, which remanded him to police custody until June 9. The arrest came after an intern filed a complaint alleging that the firm cheated employees and withheld their salaries. The complaint also stated that the firm collected Rs 15,000 from each employee for issuing laptops but never returned the amount.
Preliminary Investigation Findings
Senior inspector Balaji Pandhare of the Hinjewadi police told TOI, “Probe so far revealed that Thakre did not have any projects in hand that required such a large workforce. He was probably aiming some govt IT projects.” Police suspect that Thakre hired many freshers last year in hopes of securing government projects, which never materialized.
After the company shutdown, Thakre moved to Nashik and remained uncooperative despite repeated attempts to contact him. Assistant police inspector Somnath Panchal said, “A police team was dispatched to his residence at Adgaon in Nashik on Tuesday to prevent him from fleeing. His wife initially claimed he was not at home. But we had credible information and waited for over two hours. He eventually came out from the bedroom, and we immediately detained him.” Police suspect that Thakre was preparing to leave Nashik when he was apprehended.
Legal Action and Ongoing Search
Besides Thakre, the police have registered a case under sections 316 (criminal breach of trust) and 318 (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the firm’s training and development head, and HR head, whose whereabouts are currently unknown. “We are searching for them,” Pandhare said.
Thakre holds an MTech degree and claimed to have previously worked with a prominent IT firm. Police are verifying his claims. The accused was brought to Hinjewadi on Tuesday night and formally arrested on Wednesday. The court has granted police custody to allow further investigation into the matter.
