Bribery case: Ex-Goa min Alemao appears before Crime Branch

Former chief minister of Goa, Digambar Kamat, has been accused of taking bribes on two occasions, between 2010 and 2011.

Churchill Alemao, another Congressman who was the Public Works Minister was reportedly named as the second recipient of a almost million dollar kickback paid by a firm named Louis Berger that was hired as a consultant for a large water and sewage project.

Two former Louis Berger officials have given statements under section 164 crpc, admitting to have paid bribes to the former ministers in their official residence, the sources added.

Both-Kamat and Alemao were issued summons by the investigating agency.

Louis Berger was part of a consortium that eventually won a contract to execute a multi-billion dollar water and sewerage project in Goa worth Rs.1,031 crore funded by the JICA, which was cleared in 2010 by a Congress-led coalition government.

The Crime Branch had on Monday arrested JICA Goa Project Director A Wachasunder, who was terminated from the services after the scam came to notice last week.

Meanwhile, a day after assuring the House that government will request CBI to probe the bribery case, Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar said it might rethink on its decision as the Crime branch was doing a “good” job.

“We have been able to find out exactly how the money was brought to India and how much was brought”, a senior Crime Branch official said declining to divulge more detail.

Crime Branch officials said they have cracked the case and would seek issuance of a letter rogatory (LoR) to procure certain documents related the case from the US. I have given them (CB) free hand. Mr Alameo, another senior Congress leader, has already been questioned about the accusations and denied any wrongdoing.

Police sources said that Kamat would again be issued summons to report to the Crime Branch on Wednesday. “It is not fair to comment anything on the investigations now”.