Gawade, alias Damu, was caught while accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh to be delivered to his seniors to settle the service matter regarding Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspector Elister Fernandes.
Gawade, in his statement before magistrate, had allegedly confessed that the bribe was taken at the behest of his seniors and had named a deputy director of the transport. Under immense pressure Gawade has made this plea to retract his statement. Senior and high-profile Panjim lawyer Damodar Dhond is representing Gawade, who was a peon in the department.
It is alleged that top officials of the Transport Department and their relatives were continually threatening and pressuring Gawade in judicial custody.
Following reports in the media, ACB has also recorded the statement of deputy director Vishram Govekar’s son who is in the transport business for a couple of years. ACB also grilled Govekar on Wednesday. Govekar has been on sick leave from the department since his name cropped up in the course of the ACB inquiry.
Then Transport Director Arun Desai has been transferred and replaced by Sunil Masurkar based on a confidential report sent to the government by ACB that Desai’s continuance as director may hamper probe.
