Panjim: BJP’s rebel ex-MLA Kiran Kandolkar was on Wednesday quizzed by the Crime Branch (CB) in connection with a gambling raid carried out at his apartment in Khorlim, Mapusa on September 29.
He was summoned to appear before the CB team at 11 am for an explanation on the use of his premises for an illegal activity. “We had found certain incriminating evidence against him during the ongoing investigation. He was summoned to verify these. If required, the CB will issue him another summons,” an officer said.
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Kandolkar, after being questioned for about an hour, told reporters that he is politically targeted. “I am being targeted by the Goa government and BJP. Many BJP workers are going through a bad experience of the party leadership. The party should rethink about it,” he said.
On September 29 night, CB sleuths, arrested 3 persons -Vipul Nerulkar, Sunil Chavan and Adav D’Souza for the offence and seized gambling articles besides Rs 50,000 approx cash from the apartment. Incidentally, Kandolkar’s alternate residence where he lives with his family is barely a few metres away from the raided flat. Herald was the first to report that Kandolkar will be questioned for the offence.
On the direction of the High Court (HC) of Bombay at Goa, the CB in 2015 had registered an FIR against a politician by the name Kiran from Tivim, an unidentified minister, politicians, police officers, matka operators, 1,100 bookies and 2 media houses in the matka case.
In one of its status reports filed before the HC 4 years ago, the Special Investigation Team – formed to exclusively probe the larger nexus – had said that there is nothing on record or evidence to prove the organised crime or nexus.
