PANJIM: Congress leader Dharmesh Saglani, who gave a tough fight to Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant in his home turf Sanquelim constituency in the Assembly elections, was arrested in an extortion case, on Monday.
Saglani was summoned to the Crime Branch at Ribandar for questioning in the four-month-old case after which he was detained and thereafter arrested.
The team led by PI Dattaguru Sawant took him to Goa Medical College and Hospital, Bambolim for his medical examination, which is part of the arrest procedure. He will be taken to the local court on Tuesday for obtaining police remand for custodial interrogation.
As per a complaint filed by one Ankit Jajodia, a native of Faridabad, Saglani and five others, including bouncers, wrongfully confined the former for Rs 50 lakh ransom and threatened to kill him.
Condemning Saglani’s arrest, All India Congress Committee (AICC) Goa in-charge Dinesh Gundu Rao alleged that the government is using the police to intimidate Congress leaders.
Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) President Amit Patkar said, “I don’t know details about the case. I met Saglani and he told me that the police have filed a false case against him. Saglani has applied for bail and his bail application will come up for hearing at 2.30 pm on Tuesday.”
The incident happened during the Code of Conduct as Goa, along with four other States, was gearing up for the elections. An FIR under various sections of the Indian Penal Code was registered based on the complaint and investigations began but the politician dismissed it as politically motivated against Him.
Condemning Saglani’s arrest, All India Congress Committee (AICC) Goa in-charge Dinesh Gundu Rao alleged that the government is using the police to intimidate Congress leaders.
“Though I have no details of the case, it appears to be harassment of political opponents. It is also a fact that Saglani had almost defeated Chief Minister Pramod Sawant in the Assembly elections,” Rao said, adding that the Congress leaders will not bow to such intimidatory tactics.
