IT Hub Pune: More Than 700 Employees Left Jobless After Alleged Scam

The Hinjewadi IT hub in Maharashtra’s Pune witnessed closure of yet another firm, affecting between 700-1,000 employees. Thynk Tech India OPC Pvt Ltd shut down amid complaints of pending salaries and collection of security deposits from candidates.

As per reports, this was the third recent such closure in the IT hub affecting the livelihoods of more than 4000 workers in Pune.

 Senior police inspector Balaji Pandhare told The Indian Express on Wednesday that the police have arrested Harshal Thakare, the owner of the firm, “for cheating employees in the name of providing jobs and collecting money from them.”

 The arrests follow complaints from a 25-year-old intern of the company. The investigating officer told media: “The initial probe suggests that the accused took Rs 15,000 from each of the interns for providing a laptop. They were told that for the initial two months of unpaid internship, they will start getting Rs 15,000 per month. The young engineers who have approached us till now have not been paid salaries ranging between one to three months, since September 2025.”

Pavanjit Mane from the Forum for IT Employees told reporters that many interns and employees from the company reached out to the forum with complaints of pending salary since January in some cases. He said “The company started in August last year. Initially, it paid salaries to freshers and then from January, no one has been paid any salary. The owners kept them, giving new dates for salaries every time the employees approached them. But they never kept their word…The interns and freshers have not been paid salaries for months. Cheques issued to them have bounced”

Not only was the firm allegedly collecting security deposits in lieu of laptops, Mane added that “They seemed to have collected the stipend amount from the government which provides such reimbursements to IT firms…. On top of this, the firm must have made money on the projects they took up from different businesses,” hinting at a bigger scam beneath the surface.

Not just did Thynk Tech India OPC Pvt Ltd recruit from reputed institutions throughout Maharashtra,  it also hired candidates through its online portal.

Another firm named ‘Flynaut’ collected around 1.5 lakh from employees as security deposits before vanishing according to Mane. He added “Three of the firms are from Hinjewadi IT hub and two are from Viman Nagar-Kharadi IT hub.”

Mane alleged even as the scam was unearthed a few days ago, concerned ministries from the state government are yet to step in and assure action to the anxious youngsters.