PANJIM: The sacked JICA Project Director Anand Wachasundar, presently cooling his heels in the Panjim police lock-up in connection with the high-profile investigation into JICA bribery scam, had witnessed the two ex-ministers receiving kickbacks from Louis Berger officials.
The revelation comes from some former Louis Berger employees who, in their statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure before a judicial magistrate claimed money exchanged hands between them and Digambar Kamat and Churchill Alemao at four different locations.
As many as 15 Louis Berger officials working at its Delhi, Chandigarh, Gurgaon and Jaipur offices were summoned to appear for questioning in the State during the last couple of days.
The depositions gave CB sleuths a strong reason to summon the ex-ministers on Tuesday. However, only Alemao turned up at CB office. “Louis Berger paid the ex-ministers a bribe of a whopping Rs 4-crore-odd in the presence of Wachasundar in different installments at different place. This has been recorded under Section 164 CrPC and is clinching evidence against all of them,” an officer told Herald wishing not to be named.
The process to prepare a watertight case against the accused and suspects began in the wake of these statements, details of which have been kept under wraps considering the sensitivity of the case.
Meanwhile, the judicial magistrate first class (JMFC) Panjim on Tuesday evening remanded Wachasunder to four days police custody. Public Prosecutor Prasad Kirtani sought his custodial interrogation for 10 days citing his presence when the ex-minsisters were bribed by Louis Berger officials.
“Since we have already made out a case, it is at the very beginning stage of investigation. He (Wachasunder) could have been arrested when we registered an FIR, but we preferred going step-by-step. We have all the evidences,” Kirtani told the magistrate while seeking his custody. “The case is of serious nature.”
Defence lawyer Damodar Dhond contested the PP’s submission stating that the case is politically motivated. “I was kept to wait (in the CB office) for five to six hours. Why am I required on how much money was paid to them (ex-ministers). Call the ministers themselves,” he said.
The sacked officer, who reportedly underwent angioplasty before his arrest on Monday night, pleaded JMFC for ‘special diet’ while in jail, but the request was forwarded to the investigation officer, who refused stating ‘all prisoners are treated equally. No one is given special treatment.’
Meanwhile CB raided Wachasundar’s home on Tuesday evening.
