200 Sim Cards recovered, impersonator arrested for creating fake FB profile of Goa CM

Panaji: A man from Uttar Pradesh was arrested for creating a fake profile of Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant on Facebook and soliciting money from persons on his friend list. Most of the ‘friends’ were Goans who immediately reported the matter.

Goa Police Crime Branch released a statement saying that the accused, Mohammad Shakir, created fake profiles of various bureaucrats and politicians. In a joint operation with the Haryana and Uttar Pradesh police, the Goa Crime Branch arrested Shakir in Mathura and recovered 200 SIM cards from him.

According to an IANS report, in July this year, an FIR was filed against unknown persons after a fake social media account in the name of Sawant was created and messages were sent to people known to the chief minister requesting for money to be transferred to Shakir’s account via PayTM.

Shakir has been arrested under sections 66C and 66D of the IT Act and Sections 419, 420 and 511 of the Indian Penal Code.

“Discreet and technical investigation of the crime revealed that the present crime was being committed from Mewat in Haryana, Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, and the surrounding area. Accordingly, information regarding the suspect was shared with the Mewat and Mathura police,” the statement said.