Accused operated independently; Pooja Naik rearrested
PANAJI
Goa Police made at least a dozen arrests across about eight FIRs in connection with the alleged jobs-for-cash scam in the last two weeks, yet investigations reveal no connections between the accused of a larger criminal syndicate. Instead, the accused in separate FIRs reportedly operated their own isolated racket.
The arrest of Pooja Naik alias Rupa Palkar has exposed one of the biggest government jobs-for-cash scams operating over the last several years. Aspirants were lured with promises of lucrative posts in the Indian Railways, Police, PWD, Education and other government departments.
Ongoing investigation has revealed that not only unemployed locals acted as fraudsters but two policemen and a few government servants connived with the masterminds to dupe their targets.
Director General of Police Alok Kumar confirmed that no links have been established between the accused arrested in separate FIRs. “The accused were operating independently. So far, they have no connections with each other. However, we remain open to any evidence that may emerge during the investigation,” he said, speaking to The Goan.
The police chief added that each FIR is being thoroughly investigated by the respective police stations while ruling out the formation of a single dedicated team to handle the cases.
As many as eight FIRs have been registered across Bicholim, Ponda, Mardol, Panaji, Canacona and Porvorim police stations with the main accused Pooja Naik arrested thrice. Her latest arrest on Wednesday was in connection with an FIR at Porvorim police station.
After her police remand in the Bicholim case ended, Porvorim police took her into custody. Her bail application was earlier rejected by the Bicholim judicial magistrate first class.
In a separate job-related scam, Panaji police on October 25 registered a case against Gourish Shirgaonkar for allegedly submitting a forged SSC certificate from the Noida Board during March 2023 recruitment for a barber position.
Unanswered questions
* How will investigators trace the origins of cash since maximum cases saw bribes paid through cash?
* Some victims received receipts mentioning a specific amount paid to the accused but without specifying the purpose of payment. How will the police establish this in their charge sheet and during trial?
* Could new evidence emerge to suggest a wider network given that job fraud cases often involve contacts or connections?
* Will these cases prompt an inquiry into job recruitment conducted in recent years within the respective departments?
* Will the department probe previous complaints against Pooja Naik where she reportedly refunded the ‘bribe amount’ to victims to evade arrest?
TIMELINE
October 20: Pooja Naik, a resident of Old Goa was arrested for allegedly defrauding a family in Curti of Rs 14 lakh by falsely promising government jobs. She claimed she would offer a Junior Engineer post in the Public Works Department (PWD) and a Lower Division Clerk position for two family members. She has been arrested three times so far.
October 27
* Ponda police arrested veterinary doctor Prakash Rane for allegedly defrauding a Pernem resident of Rs 40 lakh under the pretext of providing a government job. The case was later transferred to Panaji police.
* Sagar Naik, an IRB constable who was declared a deserter for non-performance this year, was arrested by Ponda police for allegedly defrauding one Trupti Prabhu of Rs 15 lakh. He had promised her a teaching position at Deepal Memorial Education Society, Marcel. Sagar later admitted to giving the bribe money to his aunt, Sunita Pauskar, a headmistress, who was arrested on October 28.
* Canacona police arrested Mithil Chari, Pritesh Chari and Parag Raikar for allegedly defrauding complainant Nisha Chari of Rs 15 lakh by promising a PWD Civil Engineer job for her brother-in-law. Payments were made in part through the bank and partly in cash. The accused were later released.
November 4
* Mardol police registered a complaint filed by Shruti Kerkar Satarkar alleging that Pooja Naik collected money through her husband, Shridhar Satarkar on the pretext of giving government jobs to aspirants. Naik failed to deliver on her promises and refused to return the money and in turn, harassed, cheated and mentally tortured the government employee. Shridhar was found dead last week.
* Bicholim police arrested mastermind Priya Yadav and her accomplice Constable Rohan Venji, following a complaint by Belagavi resident Laxmi Dalawai of cheating her to the tune of Rs 20.7 lakh by falsely promising a job in the railways. Yadav and Venji are accused of cheating victims in Bicholim of Rs 1 crore.
* Ponda police arrested another mastermind Dipashree Sawant Gawas alias Deepashree Mahato for allegedly defrauding a job seeker of Rs 15 lakh by falsely promising a teaching position.
November 5: Canacona police arrested Rameshwar Mandrekar of Sanquelim for allegedly duping a job aspirant, Krishna Naik, of Rs 5 lakh with promises of government employment. Another suspect, Ravin Bhandari of Pollem has been booked in the case.
November 6: Pooja Naik arrested by Porvorim police on charges of duping another job aspirant.
