Special Correspondent | Panaji
Stating that a new First Information Report (FIR) has been registered by crime branch in the Pooja Naik cash-for-jobs scam case, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday said the police will conduct a thorough and detailed investigation into the case. Naik is one of the main accused in the scam.
“Anyone required for questioning will be called after verifying the facts,” Sawant said.
The Chief Minister also said the government will comment only after the investigation is complete, and everything will follow the legal process.
A year after the cash-for-jobs first broke out, the issue is back in public domain. Following allegations by Naik, the Chief Minister has asked the crime branch of the Goa police to investigate the case and confirm the involvement of a minister, an IAS officer and PWD engineer.
Sources say that there seems to be a political move by the ruling dispensation to corner a minister ahead of the Zilla Panchayat polls.
Meanwhile, responding to media queries on Wednesday that the crime branch is investigating the allegations levelled by Naik, Minister for Power Ramakrishna ‘Sudin’ Dhavalikar said, “Let the crime branch investigate it”.
Minister for Social Welfare Subhash Phal Dessai preferred not to comment on the matter. He, however, responded saying, “I don’t want to make any comments. If my name is mentioned then I will answer. In 2014, I wasn’t there.”
It may be noted that referring to the role of a current cabinet minister, Pooja Naik has claimed that the minister in question introduced her to two officers in 2012-13. She has claimed that both the government officers received around Rs 17.68 crore towards 613 job applications of various departments.
When questioned about the scam, Fisheries Minister Nilkanth Halarnkar responded saying, “Check if my name is mentioned.”
Saligao MLA Kedar Naik said that irrespective of whoever is involved, “they should be exposed and their names should come before the public”. He, however, said the job scam has not been proven yet and the
nvestigation is on.
“It is important that the investigation is completed. The names of all those involved should be made public,” said the Saligao MLA while talking to a news channel.
