Goemkarponn desk
VASCO: Verna police have succeeded in recovering Rs 8 lakhs cash from the two main accused, Nitish Naik and Aniruddha Pawar on Thursday morning
“The police recovered Rs 4 lakhs cash from Nitish Naik and Rs 4 lakhs cash from Aniruddha Pawar and a total of Rs 8 lakhs in cash have been recovered in the incident. While the businessmen had complained that Rs 16 lakhs had been seized on March 31st, both the accused have informed the Verna Police that only Rs 8 lakhs were seized in the incident ” said a top source in the Goa police.
Two more were booked in the cash seizure case and later released on bail.
Two officers Nitish Naik Lower division clerk of Vasco Electricity department and Aniruddha Pawar, Municipal engineer were arrested on Wednesday after being accused of seizing cash of Rs 16 lakh from two Delhi-based real estate businessmen at Dabolim on the night of March 31, but failing to follow procedures prescribed by the Election Commission, two more persons were later arrested taking the total of persons involved in the case to four persons
While four persons were arrested in the case, two police constables attached to the Vasco Railway Police were also suspended through an order issued by the South Goa Superintendent of Police Sunita Sawant.
According to police sources, the two more persons arrested in the case were Keshav Khandvekar, the driver of the taxi used by the flying squad and Chandan Yadav, a resident of Dabolim managing a fast food centre.
Sources said that while Keshav Khandvekar was the driver attached to the flying squad vehicle, Yadav was allegedly the information who provided the information of the two Delhi businessmen and the cash that they were carrying to Nitish Naik who pulled off the seizure while impersonating Income Tax officer while being on election duty.
However, after all the four persons involved in the incident were arrested, they were later granted bail by the JMFC court Vasco
“The four accused were produced before the JMFC but their lawyers had already moved for their bail and all the four accused were granted conditional bail each person has been directed to give one surety and deposit Rs 20,000 and be present for investigation as and when called by the police,” said the source.
Meanwhile, on Thursday South Goa SP Sunita Sawant issued the suspension of two police officials, Head Constable Vinayak Kalgutkar and Constable Anand Naik, both attached to the Vasco Railway Police station
Sources in the police claimed that both the suspended police officials were present in the flying squad vehicles and on election duty on 31st March when the incident occurred
“One police official had verbally informed the office that he wanted a leave to attend a birthday of a relative and was granted holiday and though he was not physically present during the incident, he was expected to report the case when he came on duty the next day which did not happen. The other police official was present during the incident but he also failed to report the incident and they have now been facing disciplinary action and have been suspended,” said the source
