AUGUSTO RODRIGUES
PANJIM: The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Panaji Zonal Office, appears to be unearthing a massive land grabbing scam in Goa, with layers of fraud and manipulation involving property mutations, forged documents, and collusion now surfacing
through its ongoing
investigation.
Besides zeroing in on Rohan Harmalkar from Divar, believed to be the kingpin in the multi-crore scam, the ED has filed an FIR in the District and Sessions Court, Panaji, under Sections 44 and 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, against Estavan D’Souza and 16 others. All have been summoned on June 6, 2025.
Those named in the FIR include Moses Fernandes, Mohammed Suhail, Samir Satchit Korgaonkar, Dravesh Dattaram Kubal, Mohammed Jair Khan, Kishor Mahadeshwar, Milind Tanaji Gawali, Yeshwant Sajo Pandit, Dinesh Govind Parab, Devendra Sitaram Bandal, Sunil Vithal Shirodkar, Rajesh Ram Rane, Bhikaji Govind Parab, Shrikrishna Yeshwant Ghadi, Dilip Bablo Shetgaonkar and Raghunath Bablo Gawas. Of the seventeen, Mohammed Suhail, who had previously been arrested by the ED, is currently absconding after being granted bail.
“The net is pretty big. There are different types of players involved. It is just not ordinary citizens and government officials but members of the legal fraternity that are being scanned,” stated a member of the ED on condition of anonymity. “We have been assisted by a few whistle-blowers who shared in-depth information on certain aspects of this scam. There are still many dots to fill,” the source
added.
The ED’s crackdown is a warning to unsuspecting land buyers in Goa to verify legal documentation before purchasing property, with evidence suggesting systemic misuse of the mutation process and forged powers of attorney.
Documents reviewed by O Heraldo show that Rohan Harmalkar was able to get the mutation of three properties – Survey Nos 426/5, 426/19, and 428/18 in Anjuna – done in a single day. He is allegedly associated with Vikrant Shetty in the property under Survey No 426/19 and with an individual named Alacantro D’Souza in the one under Survey No 428/18.
On Tuesday, an application filed by Rohan Harmalkar seeking anticipatory bail in the alleged land grabbing case being investigated by Goa Police’s SIT was adjourned by the High Court of Bombay at Goa to May 2, after the additional public prosecutor sought time to place on record the details of the case registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), against the applicant.
The ED probe reveals that Estavan D’Souza is linked to 20 properties in Anjuna, of which three — Survey Nos 246/2, 281/1, and 209/2 — were also mutated on a single day. Fourteen of these properties were mutated under questionable circumstances, with two found to be invalid, one (Survey No 540/13) mutated in just two days, and another (Survey No 508/1) in three days.
The total land area under ED scrutiny in connection with Estavan’s alleged transactions amounts to approximately 68,300 square metres, with an estimated value of Rs 34 crore.
Cruz D’Souza, a resident of Baddem in Assagao and a victim of land fraud, welcomed the ED’s action. “The wheels of justice appear to be finally set in motion. I hope the ED would have taken my case too that I am personally fighting,” he said. Cruz’s land, measuring 5,500 square metres, was allegedly sold for Rs40 lakh using a power of attorney issued in the name of a deceased person. “I even went up to the Vigilance Department and since I could not get justice, had to knock on the doors of the Goa Bench of the Mumbai High Court,” he revealed.
A villager from Goa Velha, Estavan’s hometown, alleged, “He (Estavan) was a nobody and came into prominence after his name started being associated with land scams. He then started claiming to be in the real estate business.”
Both Rohan Harmalkar and Estavan D’Souza had tried their hand at politics. While Rohan Harmalkar contested the 2022 Goa Legislative Assembly elections without success, Estavan contested the 2022 Goa Legislative Assembly Elections as a Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) candidate from Goa Velha but polled only 131 votes.
Meanwhile, the local police and crime branch have also pursued cases against the accused. FIR No 149/2022 was earlier filed by Mapusa Police against Rohan Harmalkar for allegedly appropriating Survey No 426/5, while FIR No 61/2022 was filed by the Crime Branch against Estavan D’Souza.
As the ED’s probe deepens, it is becoming increasingly clear that the scam involves not just rogue individuals but a wider nexus — possibly including bureaucrats, legal professionals, and political aspirants — all exploiting loopholes in Goa’s land administration system.