Calangute police have registered a case against Suraj Pendse of Assagao and another person on charges of extorting three restaurant-cum-clubs in Vagator and Morjim to the tune of Rs 9.59 lakh after Pendse allegedly posed as an officer of the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB).
Pendse, who is residing at Assagao but hails from Pune, is already in police custody after he was arrested by the Crime Branch on January 25 on charges of duping a businessman in Canacona to the tune of Rs 5.03 lakh.
According to Calangute police, Rahul Ramnath, a partner of Cafe CO2, filed a police complaint stating that the incident took place near the KFC circle in Calangute on December 13, when Pendse contacted the complainant claiming to be a GSPCB officer.
Ramnath stated that Pendse had claimed that the Collector's office had instructed him to inspect the complainant's licenses because the restaurant, Cafe CO2, owned by the complainant, had been sealed.
Pendse then allegedly extorted a total of Rs 9,59,500 from the complainant and his partners for upgrading and renewing the pollution control board licenses of Cafe CO2, Noah Vagator, and Del Mar Morjim restaurants.
Ramnath stated that the accused received this amount in cash and also through Google Pay transfers to the bank account of a woman named Anuradha Bedekar.
Acting on the complaint, Calangute police registered a case against Pendse and Bedekar. Further investigation is being conducted by Calangute PSI Prajit Mandrekar under the guidance of Police Inspector Paresh Naik.
Incidentally, this case came to light during an interrogation by the Crime Branch, and the Ramnath filed a complaint with the police on January 28, following which the police registered the case.
Police said Pendse is a habitual offender, with a total of 10 cases registered against him, eight in Goa and one each in Maharashtra and Karnataka.
