TEAM HERALD
bureau@herald-goa.com
PERNEM: The Personnel Department on Tuesday suspended Pernem Municipal Council (PMC) Chief Officer K D Halarnkar in connection with a bribery case.
It may be recalled that DMA on Monday suspended head clerk Madan Shenvi in connection with the same case.
According to reports, Mahesh Pednekar of Pernem had caught the chief officer on the camera while accepting a bribe of Rs 700 from him to give a licence to start a photo studio in Pernem Municipal Council area.
Pednekar requested the Vigilance Department to suspend the chief officer for allegedly accepting bribe from him.
Some Councillors, Mahdav Shenvi Dessai, Upendra Deshprabhu and Gajanan Sawal and some local BJP leaders held a protest march at PMC to demand suspension of those involved in the bribery case. On September 22, the councillors again staged a protest rally at PMC.
Anand Tulaskar, member of Human Rights Commission, and other social workers, also demanded suspension of the chief officer, while PMC Chairperson Vasudev Deshparbhu had also demanded strong action against the officers involved in the case.
Following investigation by the Vigilance Department, it came to light that the head clerk was also involved in the bribery case. Finally, the government suspended the chief officer and the head clerk.
