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MUMBAI: An officer accused in the million-dollar Goa bribery case has agreed to testify against former Congress Chief Minister Digambar Kamat and minister Churchill Alemao, police sources have said.
AM Wachasundar, the former director of a controversial project for which bribes were allegedly paid by private company Louis Berger, has agreed to be a witness against the Congress leaders, say sources.
“We want him to be the approver in this case and Wachasundar has agreed,” a police officer told reporters. “But this will only happen a little later and the court will have the final word.”
If Mr Wachasundar turns approver, his testimony will be used against the former Congress ministers, but he cannot be prosecuted. The police claim that though they arrested Mr Wachasundar on bribe charges, they have no evidence against him.
On Monday, Mr Wachasundar gave a statement before a magistrate and revealed that he was witness to Mr Kamat and Mr Alemao taking bribe. “He has told the magistrate that he was present when Rs. 50-60 lakhs were given as a bribe to Kamat and Rs. 15 lakhs to Alemao at their homes. So he is a crucial link between the bribe-givers and bribe-takers,” said a police officer.
Both leaders are accused of accepting nearly one million dollars for granting a Rs. 1,000 crore water-and-sewage project to a consortium of which the US-based firm Louis Berger was also a part.
The police have told the court that it was “evident and amply clear that Mr Kamat and Mr Alemao favoured Louis Berger for monetary gains by abusing their position… obtained… pecuniary advantage and caused massive loss to Goa.”
Both former ministers have denied the charges.
Churchill Alemao has already been arrested and is in police custody while Mr Kamat’s petition for anticipatory bail will be heard on Wednesday.
The controversy around Louis Berger erupted in July after company executives admitted in a US court that bribes were paid to top Indian government officials to win projects in Goa and Guwahati. The company has agreed to pay a fine of nearly US $17 million.
