Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: The Goa Police have retrieved 31 laptops that were donated to the force last year after discovering that the benefactor — now arrested in Mumbai — had allegedly been posing as an influential official to commit fraud.
In an embarrassing setback for the department, police headquarters on Wednesday issued an urgent wireless order instructing 26 police stations to return the laptops by noon. The devices had been accepted in 2023 following the donor’s meeting with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.
The laptops, gifted by Vaibhav Thakar, had been distributed to stations across Panaji, Old Goa, Agassaim, Mapusa, Pernem, Anjuna, Porvorim, Calangute, Bicholim, Valpoi, Mandrem, Konkan Railway, Margao Town, Maina Curtorim, Colva, Fatorda, Quepem, Curchorem, Sanguem, Canacona, Vasco, Mormugao, Verna, Ponda and Mardol.
According to police sources, the seized devices will either be disposed of through proper legal channels or handed over to Mumbai authorities if required as evidence.
Thakar was arrested on December 7 by Mumbai’s LT Marg police for allegedly duping a Zaveri Bazaar jeweller of ₹2.8 crore. He is also linked to an earlier DRI case involving alleged irregularities in a ₹200-crore gold trading scheme. After securing bail in that matter, Thakar reportedly travelled to Goa, where he introduced himself as a well-connected figure and made the laptop donation to build credibility.
In the Zaveri Bazaar case, investigators say Thakar used forged identity cards to pose as a senior government aide and convinced jeweller Shailesh Jain that he had the clout to procure gold from Customs auctions. Jain allegedly transferred nearly ₹3 crore to him.
Police further claim Thakar fabricated an ID card naming himself as a personal assistant to a Maharashtra MLA, which may have enabled him to enter the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly building.
