Calangute police have registered a case against a 40-year-old man from Haryana on charges of taking cash of Rs 6.75 lakh from the cash desk at a casino in Candolim without the consent of a Delhi-based friend on February 27.
Both the accused Pankaj Sachdeva and the friend from Delhi would go to the casino in Candolim. Over time, they developed a friendship and used to invest money in the casino together.
At the time of the incident, the friend went to the casino's cash desk to get the cash and placed the chips on the desk. At the same time, he got a call and went to the side to talk on his mobile.
Taking advantage of this, Sachdeva allegedly went to the cash desk and, after claiming that the friend had asked him to bring the money, took the cash of Rs 6.75 lakh. Of this, he is reported to have spent Rs 4 lakh on games and took the remaining cash of Rs 2.75 lakh and left the casino.
When the phone conversation ended, the friend went to the cash desk and the staff told him that Sachdeva had taken the money. He searched around the casino, but Sachdeva was nowhere to be found.
During a check, it was found that Sachdeva had allegedly lost Rs 4 lakh of the amount he took in the game and had left with the remaining amount.
After this incident came to light, the casino's manager filed a complaint with the Calangute police.
Accordingly, the police registered a case of cheating against Sachdeva and began a search for him.
As soon as police received information that the accused was at his native village in Haryana, the Calangute police, with the help of local police, arrested the accused. A Mapusa court later remanded the accused to four days in police custody.
Calangute police is investigating the case under the supervision of Police Inspector Paresh Naik and guidance of Deputy Superintendent of Police Vishwesh Karpe.
