Two individuals, including a woman, have been arrested for allegedly defrauding people of large sums of money in exchange for fake promises of government jobs, Goa police reported on Monday.
The suspects have been identified as Priya Yadav and her accomplice, Rohan Venji. The arrest followed a complaint by Laxmi Dalawai, a woman from Belagavi, Karnataka, who claimed that Yadav and Venji tricked her into handing over Rs20.70 lakh in cash and gold, under the false pretense of securing her a job in the Indian Railways.
North Goa’s Superintendent of Police, Akshat Kaushal, confirmed that Priya Yadav, who had been hiding in Phulewadi, Kolhapur, Maharashtra for nearly two months, was apprehended and taken into custody. Yadav was later produced before a magistrate and remanded for seven days in police custody.
Dalawai’s complaint revealed that between June and July of this year, she paid the accused in installments, believing she would be hired by the Railways. Additionally, Yadav allegedly mortgaged gold ornaments from Dalawai, securing gold loans for herself. Authorities have seized gold ornaments weighing 116 grams, worth around Rs9 lakh, as part of the investigation.
Further inquiry showed that Priya Yadav had also targeted numerous residents of Bicholim, Goa, duping them of over ₹1 crore by promising them government jobs and railway shop approvals.
Yadav’s arrest marks the second significant breakthrough in a series of similar fraud cases in Goa.
