Panaji: Anjuna police have registered an FIR against Suraj Pendse for posing as an official of the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) and cheating Club Goya of Rs 14.2 lakh.The payment was taken by Pendse on the pretext of upgrading and renewing the GSPCB’s licence for Club Goya.The accused individual is already in the custody of the Calangute police for other offences of the same nature. The investigating officer of the Anjuna police station has placed a transfer warrant before the court, police said.A complaint was filed by Himanshu Malhotra, 34, a resident of Vagator, and a native of Delhi. He stated that Pendse posed as an official of the GSPCB “and dishonestly induced the complainant by misrepresentation, false assurance and received payment of Rs 14.2 lakh”. A case of cheating was subsequently filed.Earlier this month, Calangute police arrested the fraudster for allegedly impersonating a GSPCB official and cheating restaurant and cafe owners of Rs 9.6 lakh. He had also similarly cheated a Canacona woman.Club Goya was sealed on Dec 11 last year by state authorities for being built on agricultural land without proper commercial zoning and for multiple regulatory violations.The action was part of the crackdown on non-compliant clubs after the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub fire that killed 25 people on Dec 6.
