Panaji: The Goa Crime Branch on Thursday said that it is carefully scrutinising each aspect of the allegations made by cash-for-jobs scam accused Puja Naik, as they cannot be taken at face value.
Superintendent of Police (Crime Branch) Rahul Gupta told reporters that the inquiry is ongoing and that the Crime Branch is carefully examining all aspects of the allegations made by Naik.
“A few of her allegations, prima facie, are not corroborating with other available records and hence need thorough examination. The Crime Branch is examining the contents of the recorded statements and will accordingly decide the future course of action to be taken in the matter,” he said.
Naik, arrested last year and currently out on bail, posted a video on social media last week alleging the involvement of a minister from the Sawant-led cabinet and two others in the multi-crore scam.
Without naming anyone, Naik claimed that she had been collecting money from victims on behalf of a minister, a senior IAS officer, and an engineer, who are yet to return around Rs 17 crore.
On November 9, 2025, a video of Naik was circulated on social media regarding the alleged job scam, wherein she claimed to have paid Rs 17.68 crore to two government officials between 2019 and 2022 to secure government jobs in various departments, Gupta said.
He recalled that Naik was accused in five cases across Goa and was released on bail on November 21, 2024.
Gupta said that during her earlier statements, Naik had not mentioned any government functionary on record.
The SP stated that the Crime Branch is conducting an inquiry under Section 173(3) of the BNSS into the allegations made by Naik, who named two government officers allegedly involved in the scam.
Gupta said that the Crime Branch has summoned Naik twice and recorded detailed statements from her, including a recent five-hour interrogation.
He added that the allegations regarding payments obtained by the accused from hundreds of victims, who paid large sums under the promise of government jobs, are being thoroughly examined.
“One of the allegations was that there was a flat in the PDA Colony (near Panaji) where these transactions used to take place. However, upon inquiry, the flat owner produced records showing that only hotel management students have lived there since 2019,” Gupta said.
