By: Amey Tirodkar Published in:* Frontline* Date: November 12, 2025 Source: https://frontline.thehindu.com/politics/goa-cash-for-jobs-scam/article70270393.ece#:~:text=Leading%20the%20Debate,BACK%20TO%20TOP
A scam that began with one woman now circles a minister, an IAS officer, and a PWD engineer. With elections nearing, the BJP regime squirms for cover. Just as it was beginning to appear that the perpetrators of the cash-for-jobs scam in Goa cannot be found, Pooja Naik—whose arrest in October 2024 had brought the case to light—claimed the involvement of a State Minister, an IAS officer, and a Public Works Department (PWD) engineer. In an interview with the Goan news channel Prudent Media on November 7, Naik said that the three of them were the key figures behind the scam: she had handed them Rs 17 crore collected from 600 job applicants across Goa. She said that she would reveal the names of the perpetrators to the public if they do not return the money. The scam came to light in 2024 when the Goa police received complaints that Naik had taken large sums of money from numerous people, promising to secure them government jobs. Twenty-seven arrests related to the case followed and FIRs were registered across six out of the 12 taluks of the State. Naik was released on bail in November 2024; the cases against her are currently being probed. In the interview, Naik said that she decided to speak up after waiting for many months in anticipation that people involved in the scam would return the money. “I am repaying the applicants in whatever way I can since the main recipients have refused to return the money. I haven’t received a single penny from them. Not a single applicant [of the 600] was given a job,” said Naik. She claimed that the Minister, the officer, and the engineer were directly involved in the scam, and all their transactions took place between 2019 and 2022. She noted that the bribe was taken in Rs. 2,000 denominations primarily. “The mastermind behind this scam had assured me that all [600] applicants who had paid bribes would get jobs. If not, their money would be returned in 45 days,” she said in the interview. Naik added that bribes were paid at the Goa Secretariat as well as at two offices in Porvorim. When asked for how long she had been in touch with the minister, she said, “I have known him since 2012-13. He introduced me to the IAS officer and the PWD engineer.” She said that the person was currently a part of the 12-member Goa cabinet. This forced the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to order a Crime Branch inquiry into the matter. However, Naik claimed that she had given the names of the three perpetrators to the Crime Branch and wondered “why they have not been named in the case”. The Goa police also reportedly recorded another statement from Naik at the Bicholim police station on November 10. North Goa’s Superintendent of Police, Rahul Gupta, said, “We have taken a statement from Pooja Naik. We are examining her claims.” The government’s complicity The State Assembly election is scheduled for 2027, and the local body elections around January 2026. With the unemployment rate in Goa (8.5 per cent) far higher than the national average (3.5 per cent), the scam could not have surfaced at a worse time. The youth of Goa are also known to be decisive voters, making the scam an issue that both the Sawant-led BJP government in the State and the higher BJP leadership cannot ignore. But with (sic) case under investigation for over a year-and-a-half, faith in the system is all but lost. However, the system and political class is fighting back through other means. Soon after Naik’s arrest in 2024, Sawant had said in a public function that Naik had been arrested once before, in July 2024, and it was he who got her arrested. “The woman had come to my private residence seeking a personal conversation. I soon realised she was trying to convince me to give the person accompanying her a government job. I asked the person with her whether he had given her money. I then asked the woman constable with me to immediately arrest her [Naik]. She was handed over to Bicholim police and a case was registered.” Following Naik’s arrest in October 2024, the opposition had said that her involvement was only the tip of the iceberg. AAP MP Sanjay Singh had alleged that Sawant’s wife, Sulakshana Sawant, was involved in the scam. Singh’s allegations were based on a complaint lodged with the Economic Offences Cell of Goa by a junior engineer in the Water Resource Department, Sandip Parab. The complaint named another accused, Deepashree Gawas alias Deepashre Prashant Mahato, who, it said, was close to Sulakshana Sawant and got him involved in the scam. Parab confessed that he handed over Rs. 3.88 crore received from 44 applicants seeking government jobs. In December 2024, a court in Goa restrained Singh from speaking about anything that related to Sulakshana Sawant’s alleged involvement in the cash-for-jobs scam until the defamation case filed by her against Singh could be heard. Following the recent developments, the Opposition and other politicians have once again lashed out at the State government and the police. Sudin Dhavalikar, Minister for Power, New and Renewable Energy, and Housing and leader of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, slammed the police investigation. “The police have not handled the case properly. A teacher from Ponda city was involved in this scam. Nothing has been done about that,” said Dhavalikar. Sawant responded that a fresh FIR was ordered. “Sudin informed me again about the case. I have asked the police to investigate and file a fresh FIR. All those involved in the case will be investigated again,” said Sawant. But questions about Sawant’s complicity in the case remain. Vijai Sardesai, an MLA and leader of the Goa Forward Party, said, “It is clear now that the probe in the cash-for-jobs scam is an eyewash. The accused Pooja Naik had revealed the name of the Minister a year ago. But the police and the government tried to hide it. Even a Cabinet Minister is accusing the government of not handling the Ponda cash-for-jobs investigation properly.” Sardesai said that Sawant was directly responsible for covering up the investigation, as he was the Home Minister of the State. “CM [Chief Minister] Sawant is also the Home Minister. If his police are doing nothing even after the accused has named a Minister, that means he is protecting the Minister. Sawant must resign,” Sardesai said. AAP’s Goa chief Amit Palekar also demanded his resignation. “This government has lost the moral right to stay in power. Naik’s interview is a clear testimony of the intentions of the Goa government. Either Sawant should resign or the Delhi leadership of his party should sack him immediately,” said Palekar.
