In a dramatic twist to the cash-for-jobs scam that has rocked Goa, Sandeep Parab, a Water Resources Department (WRD) engineer, has been arrested for allegedly duping a job aspirant of Rs5 lakh. Parab, who had initially approached the police last week accusing Deepashree Sawant, the mastermind of the scam, of defrauding him of Rs3 lakh with promises of a government job for his daughter, has now become the latest figure to be implicated in the ongoing investigation.
Sandeep Parab’s involvement in the scam took a turn when he was arrested by the Mardol Police on Sunday, after a police complaint was filed by Vishal Gaonkar, a 33-year-old job aspirant. According to Gaonkar’s statement, Parab had promised to secure him a job as a Lower Division Clerk (LDC) in the Forest Department for a payment of Rs14 lakh. Gaonkar paid Rs5 lakh as a token amount in February 2024, which Parab subsequently handed over to Deepashree Sawant, the queen-pin of the scam.
However, when the promised job never materialized, Gaonkar became suspicious and went to the police, leading to Parab’s arrest. It is now clear that Parab, who was once a victim of the scam, had shifted roles to become one of the middlemen facilitating fraudulent job offers, passing on the money to the mastermind, Sawant.
Parab’s arrest is part of a larger investigation into a widespread job scam in Goa, where multiple operatives involved in the scam are now turning on each other to avoid legal action. Since Deepashree Sawant’s arrest, police have received several complaints implicating Parab. It seems that he had used his position and trust to deceive job aspirants, promising them government jobs in exchange for large sums of money.
The investigation continues, with authorities focusing on the network of middlemen who facilitated this massive scam. The arrest of Sandeep Parab marks another significant step in exposing how individuals connected to the fraud exploited people’s desperation for government jobs.