The Porvorim police have arrested three key accused in connection with the Rs4.6 crore fraud involving the Goa Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (GSSA), a government initiative for school education funding. The suspects were apprehended during coordinated operations in New Delhi and West Bengal, police confirmed Sunday.
Porvorim Police Inspector Rahul Parab stated that following the arrests of two accused earlier last month, two dedicated teams were dispatched to Delhi and West Bengal. One team apprehended Sumanta Mondal (40) from Nazirpur, Nadia district, and obtained his transit remand from a local court in Tehatta.
Subsequently, two more suspects were traced to Paharganj, Delhi, with assistance from Delhi Police. They were identified as Alamin Mondal (35) of Nadia, West Bengal, and Bidyadhar Mallick (52) of Howrah. The duo is now in six-day police custody.
Inspector Parab revealed that the accused had procured bank account credentials, SIM cards, and ATM cards of unsuspecting account holders and supplied them to co-conspirators, receiving regular payments in return.
The investigation centers around a fraudulent diversion of Rs4.6 crore from the GSSA’s account held at a Porvorim branch of a nationalised bank. The scam was uncovered in April when an auditor at a private bank flagged suspicious transactions. It was later found that, despite repeated requests, mobile number updates hadn’t been made, and a new cheque book issued to the accused had not been properly registered.
The stolen funds were meant for school education schemes under the Goa Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Society. All related bank accounts have been frozen, and police have begun tracing the money trail. Authorities believe more arrests are likely as the inter-state racket unfolds.
