Pune, 25 September 2026: Personnel of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) detained a suspected serial fraudster at Pune Airport on Thursday after he allegedly obtained money from an arriving passenger under false pretences and was found carrying identity documents in three different names.
The incident occurred at approximately 5:45 a.m. outside the arrivals gate. A passenger who had landed from Hyderabad on official duty aboard IndiGo flight 6E-351 was approached by a stranger who narrated a sympathetic story and requested financial assistance of ₹20,000. Acting on humanitarian grounds, the passenger transferred ₹11,000 through Google Pay to an account provided by the individual.
CISF staff from the Security Operations Control Centre and the Crime and Intelligence Wing observed the interaction and intercepted the man for verification. Document checks revealed clear discrepancies. The UPI account that received the funds was registered in the name of Gujjaralapudi Bala Koteswara Rao. The suspect’s Aadhaar card and driving licence identified him as M. V. Dinesh Kumar, a resident of Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. A faculty identity card of Parul University recovered from him bore a third name, Alluru Shyam Prasad.
Unable to offer a satisfactory explanation for the conflicting identities or the third-party payment account, the suspect was detained. After being informed of the findings, the passenger agreed to lodge a formal complaint.
Investigators subsequently linked the detained man to an earlier case at the same airport. On 1 September 2026, a departing passenger was allegedly cheated of ₹18,600 in the city-side area using an identical modus operandi. CISF had thereafter increased surveillance in that zone. CCTV footage from the earlier incident was matched with the suspect, who, according to officials, admitted involvement. A cyber crime complaint had already been registered in that matter.
Following the preliminary inquiry and the passenger’s complaint, CISF handed the suspect over to Vimantal Police Station for detailed investigation and further legal action. Officials described the detention as the result of heightened intelligence-led vigilance after the September 1 case and reiterated a zero-tolerance approach to criminal activity in the airport’s jurisdiction.
Passengers have been advised to exercise caution when approached by strangers seeking money in airport precincts and to report any suspicious interaction immediately to CISF or airport police.
