Pimpri Chinchwad — In what police are calling one of the biggest insider fraud cases in recent memory, the Pimpri Chinchwad cyber crime unit has booked four employees of a Hinjewadi-based IT company for allegedly siphoning off confidential data valued at ₹82 crore.
The fraud reportedly spanned more than a year, between April 2024 and August 2025, and has sent ripples through Pune’s thriving tech corridor. A representative of the aggrieved firm filed a detailed complaint this week, prompting authorities to register a case of criminal breach of trust, cheating, and violations under the Information Technology Act.
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Theft of Codes and a New Business Venture
According to investigators, the accused employees — among them a woman — are alleged to have stolen crucial source codes and proprietary software solutions from their employer. Police sources said the stolen intellectual property formed the foundation of the company’s competitive advantage.
Instead of safeguarding this data, the employees reportedly used it to float their own IT venture. “By using the stolen codes and solutions, the accused went on to develop more than 100 websites and generated revenue illegally,” police said in their initial statement.
Legal and Financial Fallout
The company’s management has argued that the impact of the theft was devastating. By diverting clients and undercutting the firm’s market share with products created from stolen material, the accused allegedly inflicted financial losses amounting to ₹82 crore.
The police have registered the case under Sections 316 (criminal breach of trust) and 318 (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with applicable provisions of the Information Technology Act. Investigators emphasized that the charges reflect both the betrayal of trust and the unlawful exploitation of digital intellectual property.
Rising Threat of Insider Cybercrime
Though no arrests have yet been made, cyber police confirmed that investigations are ongoing to determine the scale of the operation and uncover whether others were involved. “We are tracing the digital trail to assess the exact magnitude of the theft,” an officer familiar with the probe said.
The case highlights a growing concern in India’s IT sector — insider threats. While cyberattacks from external actors dominate headlines, firms are increasingly vulnerable to breaches from within their own workforce. For a hub like Hinjewadi, home to hundreds of IT firms, the episode is a stark reminder of the risks of lax internal security.
