Former Goa minister and Congress leader Churchill Alemao arrested in bribery case
When he was arrested at midnight, former Congressman and Goa minister Churchill Alemao said "I am happy they have arrested me. This is a political game." As proof of his innocence, he said, he had not applied for anticipatory bail which would have prevented his arrest.
That logic suggests that by seeking anticipatory bail, Mr Alemao's one-time boss, former Chief Minister Digambar Kamat of the Congress, has revealed his complicity, suggests the BJP government in the state.
"Only if a person is involved, will they apply for anticipatory bail," said Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar to NDTV this morning. He also denied the claim of vendetta made by the two top politicians who were allegedly paid kickbacks in cash from executives of a US firm, Louis Berger, in exchange for being hired as consultants for a water and sewage project in 2010.
Mr Kamat's government lost the election two years later to the BJP.
Mr Kamat has been interrogated in recent days and on Friday, the Crime Branch will oppose his request for anticipatory bail in a local court.
Last week, two executives from Louis Berger testified that Mr Alemao, who was the Public Works Minister, and Mr Kamat, had received nearly a million dollar kickback from them.
The controversy around Louis Berger - part of a consortium for the Goa project - 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 17 million dollars.