Mystery shrouds raid on Nitin Naik on Ganesh eve

neshwin@herald-goa.com

MARGAO: Nitin Naik is a former councilor of Comba, Ward no 14, during the Kamilini Painguinkar era. An era when Digambar Kamat was in the BJP and the number two to Manohar Parrikar. An era when Kamat controlled the Margao municipality for five years with an iron fist.

But now the tables have turned. Kamat completed his Chief Ministerial tenure and is now battling the Louis Berger bribery case and buying days not to be arrested while his brother-in-law Gaurish (Pinky) Lawande and now close aide Naik have been raided and documents seized from them.

Naik was recently raided by the Income Tax department and wiped clean of many documents questioning his earnings and amount of tax returns filed. A few weeks later, on Wednesday, Crime Branch came knocking at Naik’s door suspecting his involvement in benami transactions.

Kamat’s once close aides – Sharmad Raiturkar and BJP Margao Mandal president Chandan Naik – don’t want to interpret anything in the case and prefer to sit on the fence. “All I know is that he could be a front for the Digambar camp but all this I know from media reports and nowhere else,” asserted Sharmad, who wanted no attention drawn towards him in the raids.

Rajendra Azgaonkar, brother of former panchayat minister Babu Azgaonkar reacted in similar fashion. In the last election to the municipal council, Naik had taken a sabbatical from politics and supported Rajendra, but Rajendra says he knows no Nitin and won the election only because of his brother Babu.

Fatorda MLA  Vijai Sardesai wondered on the timing of the raid. “It’s funny how he was raided on the eve of Ganesh Chaurthi. CB could be a little sensitive to that considering the Ganesh season. But this is a government of raids and of scaring people,” said Sardesai.

But former Fatorda MLA Damu Naik is unwilling to speak and wants to wait and watch how the situation unfolds. The mystery remains as to why Nitin Naik’s house was raided and that is keeping Margao wondering.