Team Herald
MARGAO: The two video journalists who were arrested while accepting bribe in Margao have been granted bail by the Principle Sessions Court, Margao. The bail has been granted on furnishing a surety of Rs 15,000 each. They have been directed to report to the Anti Corruption Branch at Altinho for seven days.
The duo, Sanjay Shinde and Melvin Soares, had moved a bail application before the Sessions Court on Wednesday and the same came up for arguments on Thursday.
Advocate Rajiv Gomes, who represented them, claimed that the Prevention of Corruption Act had been wrongly added to the case as they did not become government employees simply by entering into a contract with the government.
“The PCA is for government employees taking bribes, and my clients are not classified under that,” said Gomes.
Meanwhile, the public prosecutor did not object to the bail application in court.
It may be recalled that the Anti-Corruption Branch and Vigilance Department, on Tuesday evening, caught Shinde and Soares red-handed while accepting Rs 80,000 from a person near the SGPDA market.
Shinde worked as a correspondent for a Goan news channel, while Soares worked as a correspondent for the Information Department.
