E-Paper
Pune woman loses ₹26.30 lakh to fraudsters posing as TN CM Vijay
The fraudsters made her transfer the money to multiple bank accounts under the pretext of taxes and charges required to release the promised assistance for her knee replacement surgery
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A 50-year-old woman from Bhekrainagar was cheated of ₹26.30 lakh by cyber fraudsters posing as Tamil Nadu chief minister Thalapathy Vijay and promising ₹20 lakh for her knee replacement surgery.
The fraudsters made her transfer the money to multiple bank accounts under the pretext of taxes and charges required to release the promised assistance, police said on Monday. The incident happened between October 10 and 25, 2026.
According to the complaint filed on October 25, Hemlata Deshmukh came across a social media advertisement on October 10, 2026, claiming that Vijay was helping needy patients. She posted a comment with her mobile number, seeking financial assistance for surgery.
The following day, a man posing as CM Vijay called her on WhatsApp, using the chief minister’s photograph as his profile picture. He promised ₹20 lakh in assistance and asked for her bank details. The fraudsters subsequently demanded payments towards taxes and other charges.
Amol More, senior police inspector at Phursungi police station, said, “The fraudsters told Deshmukh that she would have to pay taxes before receiving the promised assistance. Believing their claims, she transferred money to multiple bank accounts through several transactions between October 11 and 21. The total amount transferred was ₹26.3 lakh.”
After 50 transactions, Deshmukh received no assistance. When the accused continued demanding money, she and her husband suspected fraud and approached the police.
A case was registered at Phursungi police station on October 25 under BNS sections 318(4) and 319(2) and section 66D of the Information Technology Act. Police are tracing the bank accounts and trying to identify those behind the WhatsApp numbers.
