PANJIM: Bar and restaurant owners from Calangute, whose structures were demolished last Saturday for operating illegally allegedly by a group led by Calangute MLA Michael Lobo, have demanded action against him, with one owner alleging that he demanded a Rs 25 lakh bribe.
At a press meet held Tuesday they released CCTV footage showing local legislator Lobo leading the group. “They attacked our CCTV cameras. We managed to retrieve some footage to submit to the police. We want action to be taken against the MLA,” one of those affected, Sunil Bhomkar, who runs Agni bar & restaurant said.
One of the owners has also accused the BJP MLA of demanding Rs 25 lakh as bribe from him. Gajendra Singh said, “Lobo had demanded Rs 25 lakh per month which I refused to pay and that is why my restaurant was attacked.”
Lobo, against whom an FIR has been already been registered, has denied allegations about the bribe and claimed that he was trying to control the angry crowd. He met the Inspector General of Police Sunil Garg to file a counter complaint against the bar owners for abusing and threatening him with dire consequences.
“I was not leading any group. In fact I had tried convincing the crowd not to take the law into their hands. I have filed a complaint against five persons including the owner and the son of Agni bar and restaurant. They threatened to shoot me. How can they threaten an MLA like this?” he said speaking to Herald after the meeting at Goa Police headquarters.
The legislator has also denied demanding or accepting a bribe from anyone saying it was Singh who offered to pay him Rs 25 lakh on a monthly basis ‘to allow operating dance bars and prostitution’.
“Such illegal activity and structures are mushrooming. How can I allow these to operate? There were so many which were shut down during surprise raids by previous police officers. There are four more such dance bars against which legal action will be initiated. I don’t have to demand bribe. It was Chotu (Singh) who had come with a bag carrying the cash when I became the MLA,” he added.
Meanwhile, Bhomkar said his restaurant – running for the last three years – has all the required permissions including excise licence. “There are regular police checks on a daily basis and not a single complaint has been filed against us. We are abiding by all the rules,” he said.
Singh, whose restaurant was also attacked by the mob last week, said Lobo has been targeting only a few restaurants in the area and that police are not responsive to their calls.
K Sudhir, who recently leased out his restaurant to another local, accused the legislator supported group of assaulting him and his son during the demolition activity. The affected individuals have denied any illegal activity being carried out at their promises.
“We did not receive any show cause notice informing about the demolition or seeking explanations about any alleged illegality going on,” said one of them.
