Team Herald
PANJIM: Following the Herald report that four illegal mining cases have been closed on flimsy grounds, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar held a meeting with the Special Investigation Team (SIT) and demanded to know why investigations into the scam have been delayed.
The SIT is investigating 15 illegal mining cases of which closure report in two cases have been sent to the court while in three cases there were no serious charges and these have been sent back to the respective police stations. Of the remaining 11 cases, charge sheets have been filed in three cases.
Herald in it edition dated August 16, 2015 had reported that investigators had submitted closure reports in four cases related to illegal mining with reasons that cases were not filed by appropriate authority and there was no clinching evidence etc.
Parsekar in a meeting on Monday questioned the delay in investigating the other cases and sought a status report in each of the 11 cases.
Sources said the chief minister also asked investigators to expedite the probe and file a charge sheet as soon as possible.
Parsekar’s diktat to the police come close on the heels of investigations carried out by Crime Branch in the multi-crore JICA bribery case in which former chief minister Digambar Kamat and former PWD minister Churchill Alemao are being questioned.
Ironically, Kamat was also one of the accused in the illegal mining case investigated by SIT.
Besides Kamat, former chief minister and present Leader of Opposition Pratapsingh Rane, NCP leader Praful Hede and former minister Joaquim Alemao were also accused of illegalities in the mining scam.
