Systematic bid to save CM kin in graft case: Goa opposition

The opposition in Goa on Monday flayed the BJP-led coalition government over what they said is a "systematic campaign" to get Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar's brother-in-law Dilip Malvankar off the hook in a corruption case.

"The sudden transfers of Anti-Corruption Bureau officers, including Superintendent of Police Bosco George and Inspector Nolasco Raposo, were just preparatory procedures for the reinstatement (of Malvankar). It is shocking and very unfortunate that a person arrested red-handed accepting bribe gets reinstated in service," Congress spokesperson Sunil Kawthankar said.

Malvankar, a state government employee attached to the Goa Industrial Development Corporation, was arrested in October last year on charge of accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh to facilitate allocation of an industrial plot.

Since his arrest, both the investigating officer Nolasco Raposo and the Anti-Corruption Bureau chief have been transferred and Malvankar reinstated last week.

"The speedy reinstatement of Malvankar is a prime example of the complete failure of the Bharatiya Janata Party's election mantra of zero tolerance to corruption," Kawthankar said.

Goa Forward Party President Prabhakar Timble also accused the state government of failing to act against corruption.

"Malvankar's reinstatement is a clear statement by the BJP-led government that the corrupt will be rewarded," Timble said.

--IANS

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