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.

The police have registered an FIR, and investigations are underway.