PANAJI
A second legal storm has hit Mapusa Municipal Council councillor Tarak Arolkar, who was arrested by the Crime Branch on Tuesday over allegations that he used a forged birth certificate along with an OBC caste certificate.
The arrest came barely a day after Arolkar was hospitalised following alleged chest pain while in judicial custody in another cheating case. He was subsequently discharged and sent back to custody.
On Monday, the District Sessions Court had rejected Arolkar’s anticipatory bail plea in the birth certificate case. The prosecution submitted that, prior to March 18, 2021, Arolkar had obtained an OBC certificate from the Deputy Collector and Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Mapusa, by uploading a forged birth certificate of his father on the government portal operated by Goa Electronics Limited.
The prosecution further alleged that the birth certificate purportedly issued by the Village Panchayat, Raia, was fake. An inquiry reportedly found that the panchayat had no record of the certificate, the seals on it did not belong to the office and the person shown as the signatory had never served as secretary there during the relevant period.
A second birth certificate later produced by Arolkar, purportedly issued by the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP), was also declared non-genuine after the civic body confirmed that no such record existed in its files.
The latest arrest comes a month after the Crime Branch arrested Arolkar in an alleged Rs 40-lakh land fraud case. He is accused of selling a plot in Assagao by claiming ownership of the property.
Despite allegedly receiving payment from the buyer, Arolkar reportedly failed to execute the registered sale deed despite repeated requests.
The buyer subsequently approached the police, followed by an inquiry that allegedly found the sale deed documents showing Arolkar as the property owner had been forged. Based on the findings, he was arrested.
