Louis Berger bribe: CM says won't interfere in probe

Parsekar also said that both officers involved in the case, whose houses were searched last night by the ACB, were likely to be suspended

Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar today said he would not interfere in the probe of a case involving a GIDC official, a close relative of his, who was arrested for accepting bribe even as the state-run industrial body has decided to review plot allotments.

Parsekar also said that his relative and another officer involved in the case, whose houses were searched last night by the ACB, were likely to be suspended.

According to police, Dilip Malvankar, a field manager attached to Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) and brother-in-law of Parsekar, was on Tuesday arrested while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh to allot a plot in Tuem Industrial Estate. Another officer, Ajit Gaunekar, attached to GIDC was also arrested along with Malvankar in the case.

"I don't like to interfere in any way in any of the departments, particularly law enforcing agencies. The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has also searched their houses last night. Both the officers are also likely to be suspended," Parsekar told reporters here this morning.

The Chief Minister said his government was elected to power on the promise of transparency.

"Even my relatives and well-wishers are bound by law. In fact, my relatives and well-wishers should be more careful," he said.

Parsekar also said that action will continue even in future against those involved in bribery.

Jaipur-based industrialist Sanjay Kumawat had been allotted an industrial plot to manufacture Ayurvedic medicines at Tuem Industrial Estate in 2012. However, he alleged that Malvankar and Gaunekar were creating hurdles in giving the possession of the land.

The duo has been booked under section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, police spokesman John Aguiyar had earlier said.