Claim of minister, IAS involvement in Goa cash-for-jobs scam baseless, police say: ‘No evidence against any official’

In a video posted on social media last month, Pooja Naik, who was arrested last year and is currently out on bail, alleged that she collected Rs 17.68 crore from several job aspirants at the behest of a Cabinet minister and two government officials. After she made the allegations, an inquiry was initiated by the Crime Branch of the Goa Police.

“After meticulous verification of documents, premises, financial records, and digital trails, no material evidence has been found to support Pooja Naik’s allegations against the government officials named. On the contrary, the findings indicate that Naik has misled the public and collected money fraudulently from job seekers, and she and her family members lived a lavish lifestyle, which includes tours abroad,” said Crime Branch SP Rahul Gupta.

Police said financial analysis of bank accounts and statements of Naik and her family members found “no evidence” of any transfer of funds to the named officials.

“Electronic call records for 2023-2025 showed no call communication between Naik and both the government officers. There was no relevant WhatsApp communication presented to the Crime Branch by her,” the SP said.

According to police, Naik claimed that she had worked at the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) office in St Inez in 2012, and that while there, she had been introduced to a government official by an incumbent Cabinet minister. Police, however, said the probe found that Naik never worked at the MGP office, according to the testimony of officials and staff working in the party office at the time. “No documentary or oral evidence about her presence in the party office or receiving a salary came out during the inquiry,” said SP Gupta.

On Naik’s claim that she maintained a diary with names of 613 job aspirants and the amount collected from them, which she handed over to a friend named Tanvi Naik, police said their inquiry revealed that no such diary existed and no person named Tanvi Naik had been associated with her. “During cross-questioning, Naik admitted that she does not know any Tanvi Naik personally,” said SP Gupta.

According to police, Naik had also claimed that cash transactions took place at a flat in Porvorim that she had converted into a private office. “It was established that no such office existed, and the premises were rented only to some students of a hotel management course. The landlord confirmed he had never rented the property to any government officer,” SP Gupta said.

Police said Naik claimed to possess video clips on a mobile phone that alleged showed her handing over cash to government officers in the office at Porvorim. She claimed that the phone was in police custody. “Through electronic tracking, the mobile phone was traced to Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh. In August 2025, Naik’s husband, Purushottam, sold the phone to one Darshan Korgaonkar, and Darshan sold it to one Sumit Kumar in Saharanpur. The phone has been recovered from Kumar at Saharanpur and handed over to Mardol Police Station for investigation. Darshan has stated that Purushottam Naik had formatted the said phone when it was sold to him,” the SP said.

“Transactions of Rs 3.54 crore were found in the [bank] accounts of Naik from 2019 to 2024, and transactions of Rs 4.39 crore were found in the accounts of her husband, Purushottam Naik, from 2019 to 2024. Transactions of Rs 13.18 lakh were found in the accounts of Naik’s two daughters during the five-year period,” he said.

Police said that when questioned regarding the source of income with regard to the bank transactions, Naik claimed she used to take her own commission from candidates and that her husband used to sell fish for a living. Police said the accused lived a lavish lifestyle and had purchased six high-value vehicles, including a Toyota Fortuner, a BMW, an Audi, one MG Hector, one Hyundai Verna, one Honda Amaze car, three earthmovers, a motorcycle and a scooter.

Police said between May and October 2025, PCR call records show that Naik frequently sought police help due to repeated visits by “job aspirants” demanding refunds, which they said corroborated her role in unauthorised dealings. “She was staying in a hotel between July and November 2025, to avoid aspirants,” the SP said.

Pooja Naik has been named in five criminal cases across Bicholim, Mardol, Porvorim, and Panaji Police Stations, in the alleged scam and is involved in five cheque bounce cases, police said.