Fresh case against Mauvin

Sandesh Prabhudesai
10 September 2001  

Goa police have filed a fresh FIR against Mauvin Godinho, former Congress minister, who was arrested earlier in a multi-crore power rebate scam.

BJP Chief minister Manohar Parrikar, while denying interference into it, has not ruled out re-arrest of the controversial legislator. Godinho has however described it as a political vendetta and desperate attempt to save the BJP government.

The FIR, filed by CID crime branch DySP Omprakash Kurtarkar, states that disproportionate assets to the tune of Rs 55.37 lakh have been ascertained in a preliminary assessment made of Godinho's assets.

The check period considered by the police is however only from April 1994 to May this year, during which period he has been the legislator as well as the minister. This is his third term as the MLA whereas he has been the minister thrice.

The police have also noted that Godinho has not filed his income tax returns for the three consecutive years since March 1999.

According to the police, the income of Godinho from the honorarium as the MLA or minister as well as from three business establishments he runs amounts to only Rs 69.52 lakh, besides an expenditure shown on record, of Rs 17 lakh.

Contrary to this, the value of his flat in Panaji, a farm house in northern village of Sal and the property at Pilerna in coastal belt is Rs 1.07 crore, showing a difference of Rs 55.37 lakh.

However, the FIR states that the amount could be more, considering two foreign trips Godinho made during this period as well as the expenditure he made during the Assembly elections.

Kurtarkar, who is investigating into the case of power rebate scam of Godinho during his tenure as the power minister, has made the preliminary assessment of Godinho's assets during the course of investigations.

Further investigations in this regard however are now being made by another DySP Bosco George of CID crime branch. The police have filed charges against him under sections of Prevention of Corruption Act.

Meanwhile, the police have sought permission of the governor to file a chargesheet against Godinho in the power rebate case. The FIR in this regard was filed by Parrikar, when he was the opposition MLA in 1999. Godinho was however arrested on 16 May this year, after the BJP came to power.

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