Team Herald
PANJIM: The anti-corruption Court under the Prevention of Corruption Act on Friday allowed advocate Aires Rodrigues to file a protest petition objecting to the Crime Branch move to close the Serula Comunidade cheating and land grab case against Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar.
The Court has adjourned the hearing and will hear arguments opposing the closure of case on September 17.
Crime Branch on July 30 had filed a closure report seeking to close the case against Parulekar despite having earlier submitted to the Court that the investigation of the case was almost over and that they were awaiting sanction from the government to charge sheet the accused. Over the last two years Rodrigues has been drawing the court’s attention that Crime Branch, in an attempt to shield Parulekar, was trying to vitiate the investigation by declaring that Parulekar was a victim misled by comunidade officials to grab the land.
The court on October 7, 2014 had directed Crime Branch to complete the investigation within a month. On a complaint filed by Rodrigues, the Mapusa JMFC on January 16, 2014 had directed Porvorim Police to register an FIR for offences under sections 119, 120, 420 read with 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, against Parulekar, Peter Martins, then attorney of Comunidade of Serula and Irene Sequeira, then Administrator of Comunidades of Bardez. The investigation of the case was later transferred to Crime Branch.
