Phake evading arrest

Sandesh Prabhudesai
4 June 2001  

Following arrest of former deputy chief minister and Goa Cricket Association president Dayanand Narvekar, police are now on a lookout of Vinod Phadke, the GCA secretary and the former's close accomplice.

"He appears to be evading arrest", said SP Davesh Srivastav. He was neither available at his residence nor his shop in Mapusa, he said, though police are searching his other possible hideouts.

Narvekar, supposedly the mastermind behind the bogus cricket ticket scam that rocked the country after final ODI between India and Australia on 6 April here, was picked up in the afternoon from his Dona Paula residence.

Both of them were granted interim bail for one month by the high court on 26 April, which was challenged by the state police in the Supreme Court.

While disposing of the petition today, the apex court declined to go into the mertis of the case as the time for the interim bail had already expired. The HC order was for one month or filing of the chargesheet, whichever comes earlier.

"It will take little more time to file chargesheet, though we have gathered enough evidence to prove their direct involvement in the scam", said Karnal Singh, DIG of Police.

The police had already arrested eight persons in the case earlier, including Rama Shankardas, the GCA treasurer and Narvekar's close accomplice, ticket contrctor Chinmay Fallari and six others.

Besides establishing a well-planned conspiracy in overprinting of bogus tickets, the police investigations have also found out that the GCA had deliberately not used the bar code checking machines as well as the UV lights, besides opening the gates late.

According to Singh, the GCA coterie led by Narvekar had also not allowed the finance committee as well as the security committee to function, contributing to the chaos that had been created on the day of the match.

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