PANJIM: North Goa Special Court on Tuesday asked Crime Branch to file an affidavit within eight days detailing the probe against Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar in the cheating and land grabbing case. The court will next hear the case on June 23.
The court, on March 17, 2016, rejecting Crime Branch’s plea for further time to probe the case had directed that the investigation be completed forthwith.
Earlier on October 7, 2014 the court had directed Crime Branch to complete investigations within a month. Complainant, advocate Aires Rodrigues, urged the court to summon the Crime Branch SP and seek an explanation as how police were going out of the way to shield the Tourism Minister. Rodrigues alleged that Crime Branch is intentionally not probing the case.
Following the complaint filed by Rodrigues under Section 156 (3) of the Criminal Procedure Code, 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 Serula Comunidade and Irene Sequeira, then Administrator of Comunidades of Bardez. The investigation of the case was later transferred to Crime Branch.
In his complaint Rodrigues said that the 599 sq mt of prime land on Chogm Road at Porvorim were given to Parulekar without auction and without following proper procedure contemplated under the Code of Comunidades.
Rodrigues had alleged that Serula Comunidade granted the 599 sq mts to Parulekar for Rs 3,41,320 though the value of the land was more than Rs 1 crore and Parulekar, in connivance with Martins and Sequeira, had grabbed the land at a throwaway price.
