Team Herald
PONDA: From cheating to abetting suicide – the web of crimes that cash-for-jobs queen-pin Pooja Naik spun has now trapped her even further. Shruti Shridhar Kerkar alias Satarkar, the wife of government employee Shridhar Satarkar, who allegedly died by suicide after being summoned by Mardol police twice in the case, lodged a complaint on Monday against Pooja for abetment of suicide.
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The complaint lodged at the Mardol police station, alleges that Pooja had collected money from various people through Shridhar under the pretext of providing government jobs. But Naik allegedly failed to provide the jobs or return the money, leading to harassment, cheating and mental torture for her husband, which finally drove him to take his own life, Shridhar’s wife Shruti said in her complaint.
Shridhar, a resident of Nallem-Keri, Ponda, was working as a multi-tasking staff in the Goa State Scheduled Caste and OBC Development Corporation. His decomposed body was found hanging from a tree in the jungle near the roadside at Cuncoliem, Mardol, on Saturday.
He was reported missing on October 30.
Meanwhile, the Bicholim police on Monday produced Pooja Naik before the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC), Bicholim, after her five days police custody got over and she was remanded in police custody for a further two days by the Court.
Woman job scammer held
from Maharashtra
BICHOLIM: The Bicholim Police have arrested a woman from Maharashtra for allegedly duping people to the tune of Rs 20 lakh on the pretext of giving them jobs in Railways. Preliminary investigations reveal she may have duped several others with job assurances and collected a sum of Rs 1 crore or more.
According to Bicholim SDPO Jivba Dalvi, Priya Ajay Yadav and her accomplice, police constable Rohan Rajendra Venji, allegedly took the money from Lakshmi Dalwai, who lives in Bicholim and is a native of North Belgaum, Karnataka. Dalvi filed the complaint on August 22.
According to Dalvi, Priya had told the complainant that she had a plot near Kolhapur railway station.
The railway authorities wanted to take the plot and had promised her 10 jobs in return. The complainant paid Priya the money in the hope of getting a job.
Police constable Rohan Venji has been suspended for his involvement in the crime and his two bank accounts frozen due to his involvement in the crime, Dalvi said. The police officer revealed that Priya may have cheated many residents of Bicholim to the tune of Rs 1crore on the pretext of giving them a job or a shop in the railways.
Priya has been remanded in police custody for seven days.
Two more arrests in Usgao job scam
PONDA: With Pooja Naik’s arrest, more such cash-for-jobs skeletons are tumbling out of the closet. The Ponda Police on Monday nabbed one of the key figures of the cash-for-jobs scam reported from Usgao. Deepashree Sawant alias Gauns, a resident of Marcel, was on the run and police had issued a lookout notice for her. She was arrested after she returned from Belagavi.
Along with her, police also re-arrested Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) constable Sagar Suresh Naik, who had been arrested first on October 27 but released on conditional bail three days later. Naik has allegedly cheated Usgao-based Trupti Rudresh Prabhu of Rs 15 lakh on the pretext of providing a government school teacher job.
On October 30, Sadanand Virnodkar of Tonynagar, Sanvordem, also lodged a complaint against Naik, stating that he had paid Naik Rs 10 lakh for a job.
Another co-accused, Sunita Shashikant Pauskar, a resident of Tivrem-Orgao and a school headmistress was arrested on October 28. She was later released on conditional bail by the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC), Ponda. Deepashree, the alleged mastermind, had gone underground after the Naik and Pauskar, but was finally tracked down on Monday.
