Man 'appointed' Goa excise commissioner, takes charge; order turns out fake

PANAJI: A man was allegedly duped into believing he was appointed Goa’s Commissioner of Excise, a post that is currently vacant, and he even briefly occupied the chair before the department’s suspicious staff notified the police to have his appointment letter verified.

The individual identified as Manoj Talekar was detained by the police after he claimed he had been appointed Goa ’s new Excise Commissioner, showed up at the office, and ‘took charge’ of the position.

“However, we detained the individual and registered an FIR after we received a call from the staff of the Excise Department on Thursday,” a police official said.

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According to the police, upon questioning, Talekar claimed he had handed over ₹ 27 lakh to one Ajit Shankhwalkar, who had been promising him a government job. In return for the money, Shankhwalkar handed him an appointment letter and asked him to take charge as Goa’s Excise Commissioner.

“The case came to light when staff of the department alerted us that something seemed off about the new ‘excise commissioner.’ They verified it with higher-ups in government, only to realise that no such order was issued. We are probing the case and are also on the lookout for the said Shankhwalkar,” the official also said.

The post of Goa Excise Commissioner, held by an IAS officer , was vacant for a few days after the incumbent, Asvin Chandru, was transferred. The ‘new commissioner’, however, produced an order that was allegedly signed by the previous commissioner appointing him as Goa’s Commissioner of Excise.

Gerard de Souza is a Special Correspondent based in Goa and has been reporting on and about issues concerning the state and the wider western coast of India for over 18 years. His wide range of stories covers politics, crime, environment and tourism-related concerns emerging from India’s smallest state. Born and brought up in Goa, he has a deep understanding of the former Portuguese enclave’s evolution from a laidback collection of idyllic villages that first drew flower power generation of counter culture enthusiasts to its shores to one that has become synonymous in Indian popular culture with an aspirational holiday, seeing the best (and worst) that holidayers have to offer. He also keenly follows criminal trials. Most notably, he covered the trial surrounding the killing of Scarlett Keeling, a British teenager found dead on Anjuna beach, and that of Danielle McLaughlin similarly killed in south Goa, among others. He authored the book ‘Crimes of Passion: When Desire Turns Deadly,’ chronicling cases of romance turning to rage and murder. A graduate of Goa University, he learnt the trade on the job and has experience on both the reporting and editorial sides of the profession. When not sniffing around for a worthy headline, he likes to spend time outdoors to help ensure his heart is always in the right place. Read More