Overview
- A man identified as Manoj Talekar presented a forged appointment letter and briefly sat in the vacant Excise Commissioner chair before department staff alerted police.
- Talekar told investigators he paid Rs 27 lakh to accused middleman Ajit Shankhwalkar for the promised post, and police say a separate woman paid Rs 25 lakh to the same man for another fake appointment.
- Panaji police have registered two FIRs, detained Talekar for questioning, and named Shankhwalkar as the subject of active trace efforts led by PSI Rohan Madgaonkar.
- Investigators say the forged orders bore signatures purporting to be senior officials, and departmental verification by staff stopped the false appointment from being formalized.
- Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has called for a thorough probe, ordered arrests, warned of confiscating perpetrators’ property, and urged the public to verify job offers with departments.