Former Public Works Department minister Churchill Alemao.
Former minister of Goa, Congress' Churchill Alemao, has been arrested in connection with a bribery case involving US firm Louis Berger. His arrest came hours after a court granted interim relief to Congressman and former Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, who has applied for anticipatory bail, fearing arrest in the case.
Alemao, who was the Public Works Minister in the erstwhile Congress government, was named as a recipient of a nearly million dollar kickback paid by the firm, which was hired as a consultant for a large water and sewage project in 2010. He has already been questioned by the Crime Branch, which is investigating the case.
Mr Kamat, who had been named as the other recipient of the kickbacks, has also been questioned by the Crime Branch. He moved court yesterday for anticipatory bail, the plea will be heard on August 7.
The crackdown in the case comes a week after two executives from the US firm had testified before a magistrate, saying the two leaders had accepted nearly a million dollars in bribe, sources told NDTV.
The Congress lost the election in Goa in 2012 to the BJP, which now governs the state.
The controversy around Louis Berger -- part of a consortium for a big project in Goa -- had erupted in July after US media reported that the firm had admitted in a US court that it paid bribes 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.