Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: A cash-for-jobs scam has defrauded hundreds of Goans out of crores of rupees. Goa police have so far filed 25 cases around the state, 15 in the North Goa district and 13 in the South Goa district.
They have also arrested individuals for offering to get government positions in return for money.
A government employee committed suicide as a result of the scam after his name was mentioned. At the Ponda, Agassaim, and Bicholim police stations, a new case has been filed virtually daily for the previous two weeks, with a maximum of three FIRs per station.
Teachers, senior government officials, police officers, and others claiming to have close political ties are among those detained. In some instances, the defendants promised employment in a variety of state agencies, including as public works, water resources, education, transportation, revenue, police, and health.
When Goa police filed a case against Pooja Naik last month for defrauding multiple individuals throughout the state of millions of dollars by offering them government jobs, the scam was exposed.
Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant threatened to take harsh measures against politicians and government workers who were involved in the scam shortly after Naik was arrested. Sawant also asked people to complain if they had paid to work for the government. The CM had stated, “Govt jobs are not for sale,”
In each instance, the modus operandi has varied. For example, Naik allegedly told her associates that she could get government jobs for a specific amount of money from top government officials in the public works and transportation ministries because she worked in the office of a regional political party in Panaji.
Shruti Prabhugaonkar, a resident of Porvorim, is the most recent person detained on the lengthy list. She claimed to be the BJP mahila block president for the Nuvem seat in South Goa.
Despite acknowledging her affiliation with the party, the BJP quickly clarified that she was not a member of the party “today.”
CM Sawant stated, without identifying anyone, following Shruti’s arrest on Tuesday: “The BJP has five lakh general members. Even former party members will not be exempt if they are discovered to have participated in the employment scam. That individual was taken into custody.
The CM also stated in a harsh warning that the government will confiscate and seize the possessions of individuals engaged in the cash-for-jobs fraud and guarantee that victims receive their money back.
In a case of alleged fraud, Vasco police have on Friday registered an offense against a Sancoale based woman , Diksha Talavanekar, for allegedly cheating a local woman, Mina Gurudas Chodankar, of Rs 3 lakh on the pretext of offering a Government Job.
The incident reportedly took place in November 2019 at Vasco , during which the accused promised to secure a government position for her but failed to fulfill their promise.
According to the complaint filed by Chodankar, a resident of near Mogabai, Kantem Baina, the accused induced her to pay Rs 3 lakh under the pretense of securing her a job as a peon in Government school at Vasco.
However, after receiving the money, the accused allegedly neither provided her with the promised job nor returned the funds, amounting to cheating.
The offense has been registered under sections 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Vasco police is carrying out further investigation in the case.
