Being conned can be quite stressful. Imagine losing your hard-earned money to a fraudulent person whose true identity you’re unaware of. As conmen these days pull-off scams from prisons, we should be more vigilant while handling official matters.
Recently, an alleged fraudster posed as a minister to reportedly enjoy a free trip to Goa. His team had contacted the Goa government’s protocol department with forged documents that claimed that he was a minister in Uttar Pradesh, reports Dainik Jagran.
After verification, the unsuspecting state government hosted him for 10 days. During his visit, the conman was allotted housing, a vehicle and police security cover as per protocol norms. He even met with Goa’s Cooperatives Minister Govind Gaude and former Cooperatives Minister and BJP leader Prakash Velip during the ‘official trip’.
The ministers did not question his credentials. “He met me as a Cooperatives Minister through protocol (department) channels. But I found something amiss after I spent 10 to 15 minutes with him. Later, I searched the internet for his details but could not find anything,” Gaude was quoted saying by the New Indian Express.
The Goa Crime Branch, which has arrested the conman identified as Sunil Singh, interrogated him along with four members of his entourage. They claimed that Singh came to Goa for a cheap vacation. However, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant insisted that the conman visited the state to create a network for trading business.
“It was me who directed the police to arrest him. He had created a set of forged documents on an (Uttar Pradesh) government letterhead. He was here to do some trading business. He was meeting people in Goa for that,” Sawant was quoted saying.
The CM of Goa has now ordered an inquiry to know how the protocol team could fall prey to such deceit. We hope they quickly find the reason for this huge blunder.