The Goa government has suspended Superintendent of Police (SP) Anti-Terrorist Squad Edwin Colaco after a vigilance complaint alleged that the officer registered his birth and marriage in Portugal.

Sources said the suspension order was issued earlier this week, after the Directorate of Vigilance received an anonymous complaint alleging that Colaco travelled to Portugal sometime between 2008 and 2010 to register his birth and marriage. The officer has been placed under suspension and a departmental inquiry is ongoing.

Portugal offers those born in Goa before December 19, 1961 – the day Goa was liberated from Portuguese rule – and two future generations the option of registering as Portuguese citizens. Since a Portuguese passport provides the holder visa-free entry to several countries, including the United Kingdom and the European Union, many in Goa in the last few decades have been transcribing their births in the Central Registry in Lisbon and acquiring Portuguese citizenship to avail employment and educational opportunities overseas.

Typically, registration of birth is a step to obtain a Portuguese passport, but the transition period can take months or even years. According to government estimates, a total of 26,612 Indian passports were surrendered between 2015 and 2025 by people who obtained Portuguese citizenship in Goa. As per data shared in Goa Legislative Assembly last year, 10,129 Indian passports have been surrendered in the past five years by persons who acquired Portuguese citizenship in the coastal state.

In 2014, Panaji police had registered a first information report (FIR) against two police officers, including Colaco, 43 advocates, six unidentified persons working at the High Court of Bombay at Goa, 500 unidentified serving or retired people working in government departments in Goa and others in connection with acquiring dual citizenship. The police filed a closure report in the case later, stating that matters relating to citizenship fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Central government.