PANJIM: The British MP of East Worthing and Shoreham, Tim Loughton, while making a strong case of protecting the properties bought by British nationals in Goa, in the British Parliament, did not refer to any charges or allegations of bribery made against any official of the Enforcement Directorate in Goa. He did not accuse one official, Girish Lotlikar, of having demanded money from British Nationals.
On the contrary several British nationals, many of whom have claimed that they faced “threatening conduct” and “Culture of enormous fear” in the period between 2007 and 2009, now said that the ED, and specially Mr Lotlikar, have handled their cases with empathy and sensitivity, paving the way for at least 40 cases under probe or some sort of legal tangle, getting regularized.
Herald, in its edition of January 28 had erroneously reported that the British MP had accused Goa ED officials of ‘harassing’ his constituents. While the act of harassment has been borne out in his speech, there was no mention of Mr Girish Lotlikar or anyone else in the Goa Enforcement Directorate having asked for bribes.
The MP, while speaking mainly about a specific case involving the property of the parents of one his constituents, who were a subject of an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate, stated that the ruling in that case given by Mr Lotlikar (Girish Lotlikar, Deputy Director ED, Goa) was that the hotel property should be confiscated on grounds that it was not properly acquired. The MP stated that this happened despite all evidence being produced to the contrary. The constituents’ parents, Mr Leslie Medcroft and his wife appealed the decision. The appeal was held on September 4, 2014 after an earlier postponement.
The exact text of what happened next, as claimed/narrated by MP Tim Loughton in Parliament on Tuesday January 27: “On 2 September, the company accountant acting for Mr and Mrs Medcroft was approached by the Special Director of appeals in Mumbai who said that he would make a judgement in their favour if they gave him 10 lakh rupees. It would appear that the request was made for the money not to be paid to the court, the legal system or government department, but directly into the pocket of the said official.”
He further stated that the bribe was not paid and went to a further hearing where the presiding judge Ajit Kumar, the additional income tax commissioner (and not an ED official), “very much expected my constituents parents to pay”.
Herald, while deciding to pursue the worrying issue of complaints of harassment and other nightmarish experiences of British nationals, is apologetic at the inadvertent dragging of Mr Lotlikar’s name in the context of bribery allegations and regrets the same very deeply.
