AUGUSTO RODRIGUES
The flash of a mo bile phone—spotted after hours of scrutinising CCTV footage—enabled Mor mugao Police to crack the case in which Sagar Nayak and his family were assault ed and robbed in a daring dacoity in the early hours of November 18, 2025. The arrest of six individ uals—five in Mumbai and one in Bhubaneswar—and the recovery of stolen gold has somewhat straightened the collar of the Goa Police force, which had been reel ing under public distrust for failing to solve earlier cases. While victim Sagar Nayak and his family praised the Mormugao Police, the quick resolution of the crime has given citizens renewed hope that “the police can not be undermined just be cause of some lapses.” “I was in pain to see a video last night where an activist and some others were insulting the Police Inspector and police of ficers for not being able to solve the crime, when by evening I was informed of the arrests. I hope the ac tivist has the decency to now make a video appre ciating the work done. He and other activists need to learn to say sorry if they expect to be respected,” said Nayak, as people vis ited him to share in the good news. Once the flash from the mobile phone of one of the criminals was detected, in vestigators activated the call dump. Investigators were then able to track the phone numbers and identi ties of the persons who sent and received messages to that phone. “From then on we were sure the criminals were within our reach. We moved meticulously there after, making sure the crim inals were clueless,” stated a senior officer involved in the investigation.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
Five culprits were arrested in Mumbai—the first on Tuesday morning and the last around 10 pm—while one was picked up in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The culprits entered the heavily padlocked Nayak res idence through the only window without a grill and, ac cording to an investigating officer, had conducted a thor ough recce before striking. “We came to know from the Call Data Records (CDR) that two of the culprits had reached Goa on the day before the robbery. And when they left, they did so separately and hence could not be detected through CCTV,” stated a senior officer at Police Headquarters. Once the mobile flash was identified, officers from the rank of Deputy Inspector General (DIG) to Superintendent of Police (SP) South Goa, along with Mormugao Police, used available digital technology to zero in on the suspects. According to sources, the police spent lakhs of rupees on airfares for two Police Inspectors, 10 Police Sub-Inspectors and 35 constables deployed across five locations where in telligence was gathered using stingray devices. “Speed was of the essence because as we kept monitor ing the calls, the idea was to get them before they could sell the stolen gold,” said an officer, speaking on condition of anonymity as the investigation is still active. A vehicle has been dispatched to bring the arrested men from Mumbai, and the suspects are expected to be pro duced before the magistrate for remand this afternoon. “At one stage in Kalyan,” recalled an officer returning with the accused, “we had to chase one of them, filmy style, at a busy intersection. He suddenly tried to make a dash, but we had him covered on all sides. We were determined to arrest all and are returning home happy,” he added. While the DIG and SP South monitored call records from the South Goa SP office, a key interception revealed that the stolen gold had not yet been sold. “The gold will be sold in two days,” one culprit was overheard telling another. “It was important to try and round up all of them on the same day to establish the link. If one slipped away, things could have been difficult,” stated a senior officer, glee written across his face. “This arrest is extra special because it has happened when a lot of people were trying to ridicule us. I hope this sends a good signal to all,” said another content officer at headquarters, also on condition of anonymity. “I jumped out through the same window that the rob bers came in to inform the neighbours, and jumped back in through the same window because the robbers took all the house keys when they left. To take my injured Papa out, I pushed the door apart with force,” recalled Nayak’s coura geous 15-year-old daughter, Nakshatra. Despite the major breakthrough, the mood at the Mor mugao Police Station remained sombre. Police Inspector Sheriff Jacques described the achievement thus: “I am convinced that we would not have been able to crack the case without the hand of God.
