PANAJI
In another breakthrough into the Rs 5.36 crore misappropriation of Goa Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) funds, Goa Police arrested two accused, including the mastermind from West Bengal.
The arrest of Subhashis Sikdar and Mriganka Joarder comes shortly after the case was transferred from Porvorim police to the Crime Branch. This takes the total arrests to seven, all from different parts of West Bengal.
Sikdar is believed to have masterminded the fraud. Details shared by Superintendent of Police (CB) Rahul Gupta stated that the accused siphoned over Rs 1.8 crore from SSA's Bank of India account and gained unauthorised access to a Bank of Baroda account with the help of another accused, Alamin Mondal.
“They used forged cheques to withdraw the government funds. Sikdar played a central role in planning and executing the fraud and was mainly responsible for converting the stolen money into bank credits under fake identities or mule accounts, thereby attempting to hide the illegal origin of the funds,” Gupta said.
Mriganka Joarder is the second person arrested, who is charged with allegedly playing a vital role in facilitating the movement of stolen funds and disguising their trail.
“He managed a Bandhan Bank account registered under the name M/s Sonum Auto Sale, owned by Sumanta Mondal. This account received Rs 49.44 lakh from the stolen funds,” the SP said, adding that their probe suspects Joarder helped in moving the stolen money, making it difficult to trace.
“His role appears to be crucial in concealing the fraudulent source of the funds,” he added. The CB also seized mobile phones and SIM cards belonging to both accused as part of the ongoing investigation.
Earlier, five others — Rabin Paul, Purnashish Sana, Alamin Mondal, Bidyadhar Mallick and Sumanta Mondal — were arrested in connection with the case.
SP Gupta said that they are pursuing leads to identify and arrest others linked to the racket.
