Team Goemkarponn
Colvale: Acting swiftly on a cyber fraud complaint, Colvale Police arrested a 19-year-old man from Patna, Bihar, for duping a Thivim resident of Rs 4.24 lakh under the pretext of offering a Naturals Ice Cream franchise.
The complainant, a resident of Thivim, approached Colvale Police Station on June 10, 2025, alleging that between May and June, a person identifying himself as Abhishek Sharma posed as a sales advisor of Naturals Ice Cream Pvt Ltd.
The accused allegedly contacted the complainant using multiple mobile numbers and lured him with the promise of awarding a franchise.
Under the guise of registration, security, and software fees, the complainant was induced to transfer a total of Rs 4,24,900 to two bank accounts — one in Bandhan Bank and the other in Indian Bank.
After receiving the funds, the accused sent fake registration certificates and continued demanding more money, ultimately failing to provide any franchise and disappearing, thereby cheating the victim.
Following the complaint, Colvale Police registered FIR No. 41/2025 under Sections 318 and 319 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 66-D of the IT Act. The case was taken up for investigation at 8:13 PM on June 10.
Under the overall supervision of SP (North) Rahul Gupta, IPS, and SDPO Mapusa Wilson D’Souza, the investigating team led by PI Sanjit Kandolkar began tracking the accused through technical surveillance and banking details. The accused was traced to Patna, Bihar.
A team comprising PSI Swanand Prabhu, PC Shashank Naik, PC Vinod Sharma, and PC Samir Naik was deputed to Bihar. The accused, identified as Alok Kumar, son of Jay Prakash, and a resident of Mathroad, Paliganj, Patna, was arrested on July 6 at Paliganj Police Station after adhering to all Supreme Court arrest guidelines.
He was produced before the Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Danapur, who granted 96 hours transit remand. The accused was brought to Goa on July 10 and produced before the JMFC, Bicholim, who remanded him to five days of police custody.
In a significant breakthrough, police have managed to get Rs 2 lakh of the defrauded amount frozen in Bandhan Bank with assistance from the cyber crime unit. Preliminary investigation has also revealed that the accused is involved in at least five similar fraud cases across India, with the total fraud amounting to Rs 22.2 lakh.
The entire operation was carried out by PSI Swanand Prabhu, HC Gurudas Mandrekar, PCs Shashank Naik, Vinod Sharma, Uddesh Parab, and Samir Naik of Colvale Police Station, under the direct supervision of PI Sanjit Kandolkar, SDPO Wilson D’Souza, and SP (North) Rahul Gupta, IPS.
