Team Goemkarponn
MAPUSA: Mapusa MLA Joshua D’Souza has rejected claims linking him or his late father, former Deputy Chief Minister Francis D’Souza, to an alleged 1996 property transaction involving builder and property dealer Suleman Siddiqui.
Responding to the claims, Joshua said he was only eight years olds when the alleged transaction is stated to have taken place and therefore had no knowledge of any sale deed purportedly signed by his father.
He also maintained that the land at Housing Board, Ekta Nagar, Mapusa, did not belong to his immediate family. According to him, the property is owned by relatives, some of whom are based in the United States.
Siddiqui had referred to the property during proceedings before the Additional Sessions Court in connection with his bail application. In his application and affidavit, he claimed that he had negotiated for approximately 20,000 square metres of land at the location and alleged that the transaction involved Francis D’Souza.
Joshua said he was not aware of any such transaction and stressed that his father was not an MLA in 1996.
He further said that Siddiqui later approached him regarding the property, but he declined to intervene and directed him to pursue his claim through the appropriate legal process.
The MLA said the dispute is now before the courts and that the original owners are pursuing their case.
Joshua also alleged that Siddiqui had attempted to sell the property to another individual, while the original owners were continuing with their legal claim.
Siddiqui’s references to his interactions with politicians were made as part of a broader account submitted during his bail proceedings. He claimed that his long career in the property business had brought him into contact with several MLAs and ministers in Goa and elsewhere.
