The Goa police have withdrawn 31 laptops donated last year after the donor was exposed as an impersonator and alleged fraudster, now under arrest in a major cheating case in Mumbai.
Left red-faced by a high-profile donation endorsed at senior levels, the police headquarters on Wednesday morning issued a wireless message directing 26 police stations to return the laptops to headquarters by noon.
The laptops were donated by Vaibhav Thakar, who had last year met Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, following which the devices were distributed across police stations in Panaji, Old Goa, Agassaim, Mapusa, Pernem, Anjuna, Porvorim, Calangute, Bicholim, Valpoi, Mandrem, Konkan Railway, Margao Town, Maina Curtorim, Colva, Fatorda, Quepem, Curchorem, Sanguem, Canacona, Vasco, Mormugao, Verna, Ponda and Mardol.
Police sources said the laptops would either be disposed of following due legal procedure or handed over to the Maharashtra government if required for investigation.
Thakar was arrested by Mumbai’s LT Marg police on December 7 for allegedly cheating a Zaveri Bazaar jeweller of Rs 2.8 crore. Thakar had earlier been arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence in connection with a Rs 200-crore gold trading case. After the bail, he travelled to Goa, where he allegedly posed as a well-connected official and made the donation to gain legitimacy and access.
In the Zaveri cheating case, police said Thakar used forged identity cards to impersonate senior officials and won the confidence of jeweller Shailesh Jain by claiming he could leverage influence to secure gold through Customs auctions. Jain allegedly transferred nearly Rs 3 crore to him.
Police further alleged that Thakar forged an identity card identifying himself as a personal assistant to a Maharashtra MLA, which they believe was used to gain access to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.
