Team Goemkarponn
Bicholim: Bicholim Police arrested two interstate suspects after they were found impersonating police officers and targeting elderly women to commit thefts in the area.
According to police sources, while patrolling the police station jurisdiction on January 7, 2026, police personnel noticed two suspicious persons moving near Assnora junction on a Honda Shine motorcycle. The suspects were discreetly monitored and were seen stopping elderly women and attempting to manipulate them under suspicious circumstances.
The suspects were intercepted by PSI S. Kamat and Police Constable Dayesh Khandeparkar of Bicholim Police Station. However, the duo attempted to flee and escaped briefly before being chased and apprehended by the police team.
During the chase and subsequent detention, police recovered incriminating articles from their possession, including face masks, stones, glass bangles wrapped in paper, fake police identity cards and the motorcycle they were using. Police suspect the two-wheeler to be stolen, as its engine and chassis numbers were found to be tampered with.
The suspects were taken to Bicholim Police Station, where they identified themselves as Gulam Shiraz (40), son of Abbas Shiraz, a resident of Moraj, Sangli district, Maharashtra, and Asadullah Afzal Ali Khan (35), son of Afzal Ali Khan, a resident of Bidar, Karnataka.
During sustained interrogation, the accused confessed to committing a theft at Bicholim on December 20, 2025. They revealed that they posed as police officers and cheated a local woman, Smt. Madhavi Naik of Bicholim, by inducing her to hand over her gold mangalsutra under the pretext of wrapping it safely. The victim later discovered that stones had been wrapped in paper instead of her gold ornament.
Police have also revealed that the accused are involved in a crime registered at Colvale Police Station. Investigations are underway to ascertain whether the duo is linked to similar offences reported across Goa and other parts of the country.
Both accused were placed under arrest on January 7, 2026 at 4.48 pm. Further investigation is being carried out by PSI S. Kamat under the supervision of PI Vijay Rane Sardesai, SDPO Bicholim Shridevi B. V., IPS, and the overall supervision of SP (North Goa) Harishchandra V. Madkaikar.
