PANJIM: Vasco businessman Munnalal Halwai who has been fighting in court to register an FIR against former Inspector General of Police Sunil Garg, in an alleged bribery case, was attacked on Friday night in Chicalim.
Halwai filed a complaint at Vasco Police Station suspecting Garg’s role behind the attack. According to him at 11pm on Friday a Bolero jeep followed his car from Cortalim junction and a few minutes later the jeep banged his car from the back.
The car was damaged but he managed to escape unhurt. He said in his complaint that he saw a man wearing a black coloured mask coming towards him shouting abusive language. In his complaint, Halwai claimed the man said “I will chop you before you could go in the court.”
Halwai said that he has been suspecting threats to his life since he filed the case against Garg and this has been conveyed to Director General of Police and the Chief Minister. He has now sought police protection for him and his family fearing another attack.
Recently, the High Court of Bombay at Goa had asked Halwai to produce all the documents in the case as Garg had challenged the order of a lower court directing Anti-Corruption Branch to register an FIR. Court has granted interim relief to Garg till a further hearing on April 5.
Halwai had complained at ACB that Garg has demanded and accepted Rs 5.5 lakh to register a FIR at Ponda Police Station and had submitted an audio recording of the conversation between Garg and Halwai in the office of IGP at Police Headquarters.
He had approached Panjim’s JMFC to direct ACB to register an FIR against Garg in September 2016 as no action was forthcoming.
Halwai, later approached the HC as the Special Court even a year later had not decided on the matter, whereas the HC in December 2017 asked the Special Court Panjim to decide upon the petition filed under section 156 (3) related to bribery cases against Garg in eight weeks.
Following the HC directions the order was issued by JMFC to register the FIR, which has been challenged by Garg and is pending before the HC.
Vasco police have registered a an offence under Sections 279, 504, 506(ii) read with Section 34 of IPC against the unknown accused persons and efforts are on to trace them.
