Panaji, June 6 (IANS) A man has been arrested on charges of attempting to trade sensitive data through online platforms using cryptocurrency transactions from Goa, police said.

The accused, identified as Vishal Gohil, 42, a resident of Ahmedabad in Gujarat, was arrested on Wednesday in Calangute, police officials said on Thursday.

Gohil was arrested during an operation led by Police Sub-Inspector (PSI), Sarvesh Sawant, under the supervision of Police Inspector Deepak Pednekar, Assistant Superintendent of Police Akshat Ayush, and Superintendent of Police Rahul Gupta.

The accused was booked on the complaint of PSI Navin Naik, under Section 66 of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

Preliminary investigation revealed that Gohil was attempting to procure confidential information, offer it for sale through encrypted platforms, and receive payments via cryptocurrency channels to mask the transactions.

Gohil is currently in custody, said Goa Superintendent of Police (Cyber Crime), Rahul Gupta.

Further investigation is underway to verify the extent of data accessed, trace financial trails, and identify any co-conspirators or digital platforms used in the crime.

The police have urged the public to report any suspicious cyber activity or data misuse to the Ribandar Cyber Crime Police Station or via the Cyber Crime Helpline 1930.

Goa has ranked first in the country for citizen-led cybercrime reporting, Gupta had said on Tuesday, quoting a recent survey by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

Gupta said in a statement that the state achieved top rank due to “proactive awareness, youth engagement, and tech-enabled policing”.

He also spoke about the ‘Cyber Yoddha’ initiative, under which 150 trained citizen volunteers, along with the police to spread awareness.

Last year, more than one lakh people gained awareness through focused campaigns.

The awareness sessions were held in schools, colleges, village panchayats, urban wards, and among professionals, covering a range of issues like OTP scams, phishing, AI-based misinformation, sextortion, and fake investment schemes, Gupta said in a statement.

–IANS

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