Union minister Naik deposes in Goa court as witness in cheating case

Union AYUSH Minister Shripad Naik Wednesday appeared before a Goa court as a witness in a cheating case registered against a man who claimed to be his former staffer.

Naik told the court of Judicial Magistrate First Class Artikumari Naik that the accused, Vinod Desai, never worked for him.

The minister said he knew the accused for the last 10 to 15 years and sometimes used to visit his house, but he never employed Desai, though his father worked for him.

He also told the court that on September 26, 2018, his office wrote to Old Goa police station stating that Desai was not his staffer.

Desai was booked last year under section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly demanding Rs 6 lakh from the complainant, Mervin Fernandes, on the pretext of getting him a job in the Goa government.

He allegedly took an advance payment of Rs 2 lakh from Fernandes, according to the complainant's lawyer Aires Rodrigues.

As Desai failed to keep his promise, Fernandes demanded a refund. However, a cheque of Rs 1 lakh issued by Desai bounced, following which Fernandes approached the Old Goa police on September 20, 2018.

In the FIR, Naik was named as one of the five witnesses in the cheating case.

Last month, a Panaji court issued summons against Naik, directing him to depose as a witness in the case.