Panaji : The Porvorim police probing the Rs 4.62 crore fraud linked to the Goa Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan have arrested three more persons, bringing the total number of arrests to five. All accused so far are natives of West Bengal.
A senior police officer said the third accused, Sumanta Mondal (40), was apprehended in Nazirpur, West Bengal. His interrogation led police to two more suspects believed to be hiding in Delhi.
A Porvorim police team, with assistance from Delhi police, tracked and arrested the two accused — Alamin Mondal (35) and Bidyadhar Mallick (52) — from the Paharganj area.
According to police, these two suspects were instrumental in procuring bank details, SIM cards, and ATM cards of various account holders and supplying them to their co-accused in exchange for periodic monetary compensation.
The arresting team included PSI Sitaram Malik, PSI Mandar Parab, PSI Saieel Vaigankar, and constables Mahadev Naik, Harun Xec, Tushar Raut, Nitesh Gaude, Akash Naik, and Hemant Gaonkar.
The investigation is being conducted under the supervision of PI Porvorim Rahul Parab, SDPO Porvorim Vishwesh Karpe, and SP North Goa Rahul Gupta.
Last month, police arrested two other accused — Purnashish Sana and Robin Paul — both from West Bengal. Paul, a businessman, had provided his bank account, ATM card, and mobile SIM card to a co-accused for a 1% commission per transaction. He was also promised a Rs 50 lakh business loan.
Police said that while the operation mimics cybercrime tactics, it is not classified as a cybercrime. They said efforts are underway to trace the mastermind behind the scam.
The FIR was filed on May 6 at Porvorim police station under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023 for cheating and forgery. Investigations revealed that unknown persons fraudulently updated the linked mobile number of the Goa Samagra Shiksha bank account, submitted forged PPS slips, and presented fake cheques across multiple Goa bank branches, resulting in fraudulent withdrawals totalling Rs 4.62 crore.
Police said all involved bank accounts have been frozen and the money trail traced to prevent further loss.
