MARGAO: Panchayat Minister Mauvin Godinho on Friday said that the power rebate scam case has hit a road block as several witnesses were untraceable.
The police investigating the 1998 power rebate scam have found four more witnesses untraceable. With this, the total number of untraceable witnesses has gone to 10. Now, 10 more fresh witnesses were issued summons asking them to appear before the South Goa Special Court, Margao, on September 8.
The Special Court had examined some witnesses earlier in the case. In 1998, the then Leader of the Opposition Manohar Parrikar exposed the scam and in 2001 an FIR was registered by the Crime Branch against the former power minister in the Congress government, who is presently a minister in the BJP government.
It may be recalled that the Special Court on July 16, 2022 had dismissed the applications filed by Godinho, Katreddi Venkata Sahaye Krishnakumar and M/s Glass Fibre Division, (a division of Binani Zinc Ltd) presently known as M/s Goa Glass Fibre Ltd for discharging them in the power scam case.
The Crime Branch had filed a chargesheet against Godinho, besides two industrial units and four others in connection with the alleged Rs 4.52 crore power rebate scam.
