Team Herald
PANJIM: After skipping the first summons, former chief minister Digambar Kamat deposed before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Friday in the probe into the alleged illegal condonation of delay.
The Margao MLA arrived at the Crime Branch (CB) office, Ribandar, at around 11.15am where he was questioned by a team of three officers – SP Kartik Kashyap, and Police Inspectors Uday Naik and Dattaguru Sawant – for nearly two hours.
Kamat refused to divulge details of the questioning stating, “The Almighty is aware. The files (pertaining to the mining-related cases) are with them (SIT). Whatever they have asked, I responded. The Almighty is aware,” he told the media as he left the CB office at around 1.20pm.
Kashyap said that Kamat was summoned in connection with the condonation of delay and other cases related to mining leases. “There were certain clarifications needed from him (Kamat),” he further said, declining to divulge the questions Kamat was asked.
The SIT officer also stated that Kamat will be called as and when required for the case investigation.
Kamat, armed with interim anticipatory bail, had skipped first summons on Tuesday citing ill-health. The SIT had asked him to appear for questioning at 11am on Friday.
Another politician Prafulla Hede and some officials of Mines & Geology Department are also being investigated in the cases.
Earlier this month, SIT had arrested senior assistant geologist of Mines Department Ramnath Shetgaonkar. As per the case against him, the technical head was involved in inspection of several sites in Goa where illegal extraction of iron ore in lakhs of metric tonnes was carried out and he had allegedly failed to set in motion criminal action. This, an officer said, led to the theft of iron ore by individuals and firms.
Earlier, Goa’s former Principal Mines Secretary Rajiv Yaduvanshi, after several rounds of questioning turned State approver alleging that he took decisions under political pressure although being aware it would not be in the interest of the State. Yaduvanshi, presently Principal Health Secretary in the Delhi Government, is also facing a probe into 40 cases of alleged illegal condonation.
