PANAJI
In March 2023, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, during his Budget speech for 2023-24, announced a plan to launch a mobile app for reporting extortion complaints. The announcement came after several hoteliers and shack owners raised concerns about extortion demands and honey trap cases.
However, the promised mobile app is yet to be launched. Meanwhile, the Central government has introduced platforms such as Chakshu and the Sanchar Saathi portal to report similar crimes.
“There is no such proposal before the government at present,” sources in the IT department said.
The issue first came to light in November 2020, when Chief Minister Sawant himself received an extortion message on his personal phone from an international number. The sender also issued a life threat, leading to a police complaint in Panaji. The accused has not been traced till date.
“I assure the people of Goa that my government will show zero tolerance towards any form of extortion threats. A mobile app will soon be launched to report such cases directly to the police for swift action as per the law,” the Chief Minister had said in his 2023-24 Budget speech.
Police sources, however, clarified that there is already a Goa Police mobile app where citizens can register all types of offences, including extortion.
Goa Police has handled several similar cases in recent years, leading to the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT). Cases of honey traps, extortion of tourists at pubs and clubs along the coastal belt, and sextortion have been reported. Some hoteliers and shack owners have also complained of receiving extortion calls to allow loud music beyond the 10 pm limit.
In 2023, the police busted an interstate extortion racket involving beauticians recruited by a criminal gang for honey-trapping wealthy businessmen visiting Goa from Gujarat. The gang included 15 women, a lawyer, and several middlemen, all working under instructions from a woman lodged in a Gujarat jail for murder. They allegedly filed false FIRs in Goa and used threats of fake rape cases to extort money.
The investigation began after several complaints of rape and assault from women in Gujarat were found to be false. During the probe, one businessman admitted to having transferred ₹2 lakh via Google Pay to a gang member outside a police station to ‘settle’ a case.
In another incident late last year, three men were arrested for allegedly demanding ₹50,000 in ‘protection money’ from a Ratnagiri-based fisherman, Satheeb Ramchandran, to allow him to continue his fishing business.
