MARGAO: After several dilly dallying and accusation exchanges, the Margao Town Police have arrested the accused Shekhar Gaonkar, the Margao Municipality staff on Monday morning. Shekhar has been arrested after the aggrieved couple from Benaulim complained that their identity was used by their tenants. The police have prima facie made out that the entire illegal exercise was executed by Shekhar and his lawyer wife in favour of Renuka Tahsildar the accused in the forgery case.
The arrest happened on Monday morning under various sections of IPC for conspiring in the forgery case. Shekhar Gaonkar is an employee in the Taxation Section of MMC.
Earlier the police had registered an offence upon the complaint of Pedru Carlos Fernandes from Benaulim that at various Government Offices and JMFC Court, Margao, accused Renuka Shivaji Tahsildar had prepared forged non-availability certificate of Margao Municipal Council, and obtained an order from Hon’ble JMFC Court, Margao to register birth of the accused, namely Miss Renuka Tahsildar by impersonating herself to be Miss Reeta Fernandes and obtain birth certificate from Margao Municipal Council. She had further used the said documents for registration of marriage, obtaining Motor Driving Licence, etc. The accused with malafide intentions had illegally named her landlord Mr Agustino Fernandes and landlady Mrs Maria Ida Fernandes as her parents in the birth certificate and other documents.
The police had earlier searched the MMC offices and have seized some important documents related to the case. The MMC, after lots of demands, had constituted a committee and initiated an internal inquiry into the case. The accused Shekhar Gaonkar, during his deposition at the inquiry committee head Officer Yelekar, had given a statement that he personally had used the system at Birth and Deaths section at MMC and typed the certificates himself.
“We have arrested Shekhar Gaonkar in connection with the forgery case and also found out that he is the husband of the lawyer who helped the Renuka acquire the Birth Certificate,” said Police Inspector CL Patil. “We have also searched the office of the accused Shekhar Gaonkar and have retrieved some documents which have helped us in the case,” Patil added.
In the past the MMC had already discovered that their computer at Birth and Deaths section was used by some unknown persons by hacking into it and also had found no inward entry for the application of Non Availability Certificate at the office.
