PANJIM: Congress on Thursday filed a police complaint against unidentified persons alleging fraud in the construction licence and renewal of construction licence of a bungalow in the precincts of heritage area at Old Goa.
Addressing a press conference in the presence of Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president Girish Chodankar, Congress Legal Cell chairman Carlos Alvares Ferreira said that the previous owners had sold their land situated at Old Goa but their signatures were forged and permissions were obtained from different authorities for the alleged illegal bungalow.
Adv Ferreira detailed out that by a Sale Deed of 2015 the entire plot was sold and the owners had no right to make any application for permissions and shockingly an application was made in October 2016, purportedly in the names of the previous owners with a forged signature by unknown person.
Ferreira stated that both the previous owners, who were named in the application, will file complaints at the Old Goa police station in respect of the forgery and impersonation and for offences punishable under Section 465, 471, 419 and 420 read with 34 IPC.
According to Ferreira previous owners Jose Maria De Gouveia Pinto and two others were not aware of this fraud but came to know of the same only when a show cause notice dated December 2, 2021 was received by them from the Old Goa Village Panchayat. They were confused about the licence etc referred and by a reply sent on December 9, they sought information about all the permissions obtained in their names and separately obtained copies of the documents under Right To Information (RTI) Act and they confirmed that forgery had been done and fraud played on the Village Panchayat and other government authorities.
“This is a great fraud played upon the government and upon the Village Panchayat. I have a feeling to believe that it will be in active connivance with the government machinery because the manner in which the permissions were granted are also questionable,” Adv Ferreira said.
Adv Ferreira said that the Congress Party is committed to preservation of heritage of Goa .
