Panaji: The Goa Police’s crime branch has arrested former police constable Suraj Pendse for allegedly duping several commercial establishments by impersonating an official of the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) and issuing forged ‘consent letters’.
According to the police, Pendse collected large sums of money from unsuspecting businesses under the pretext of providing official GSPCB documents.
In one case, he allegedly obtained Rs 5 lakh from a South Goa establishment by issuing two fake letters — consent to establish and consent to operate.
Pendse, a resident of Goa, was traced to Pune in Maharashtra, and apprehended on January 25 with the assistance of Warje Malwadi police station.
The police disclosed that Pendse is involved in at least eight criminal cases in Goa, mostly related to cheating. Moreover, he is involved in two more cases registered in Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Sources said he is believed to have cheated multiple establishments by issuing counterfeit GSPCB documents. The board had lodged a complaint against him last year.
Crime branch SP Rahul Gupta said a written complaint was filed on January 22 by Chetan Komarpant of Chaudi, Canacona.
Between May 28 and July 10, 2025, Pendse impersonated a GSPCB official, misrepresented that regulatory work was completed, and issued forged consent letters along with fake GSPCB receipts, Gupta said, referring to the complaint.
On the basis of false assurances, Pendse dishonestly obtained Rs 5,03,000 from the complainant through multiple digital transfers.
An FIR was registered under BNS sections 204, 338, 336(3), 340(2), 319(2), and 318(4).
During the investigation, Pendse’s location was tracked to Pune, where he was arrested late on January 25.
The police seized two mobile phones suspected to have been used in preparing and transmitting the forged documents.
