In a major breakthrough, Goa Police have arrested multiple individuals in connection with the theft of Rs4.6 crore from the Goa Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (GSSA) bank account. The investigation revealed that the suspects are linked to a vast financial fraud network operating across India.
According to SP (Crime Branch) Rahul Gupta, the accused maintained 13 bank accounts involved in 68 cyber fraud complaints across various states, amounting to Rs1.5 crore in total losses. Two FIRs have already been registered in Bihar and West Bengal.
The accused were found to be part of an organized financial racket where current account holders’ banking instruments, such as ATM cards and chequebooks, were collected and used for illicit transactions. These accounts were then coordinated and provided to co-conspirators to facilitate the scam.
Goa Police arrested five people, transferring the case from the Porvorim Police to the Crime Branch for deeper investigation.
Purnashish Sana and Rabin Paul were arrested in Kolkata
Alamin Mondal and Bidyadhar Mallick were arrested in Delhi.
Sumanta Mandal was also arrested and is on transit remand.
During questioning, it was revealed that Sana introduced Paul to Alamin, who then shared Paul’s account access with Subhashish Sikdar, another co-accused. Sikdar allegedly withdrew Rs1.8 crore from Paul’s account using forged cheques presented to multiple banks. The stolen funds were part of the GSSA’s savings bank account.
Authorities are also probing the involvement of a Bank of India insider, suspecting unauthorized access to confidential customer data.
The case highlights growing concerns over cyber-enabled financial scams targeting public welfare schemes and underscores the need for banking system reforms and internal audits.
