Panaji: Taking forward its probe in the pay off case involving US firm Louis Berger, the Goa Crime Branch on Tuesday named two former ministers from Congress in their report submitted to the Chief Minister of the state.
According to sources, former chief minister of Goa Digambar Kamat allegedly took bribes on two occasions between 2010 and 2011. Louis Berger officials personally handed over more than Rs 1 crore to the former chief minister.
Former PWD minister Churchill Alemao also took around Rs 70 lakh, the sources said.
Two former Louis Berger officials have given statements under section 164 crpc, admitting to have paid bribes to the former ministers in their official residence, the sources added.
The Rs 1031-crore project was approved when the Kamat government was in power, for augmenting the water supply in south Goa and laying sewerage lines in state's major cities.
The Crime Branch has already arrested JICA Goa Project Director A Wachasunder, and has charged him under section 120 (B) of Indian Penal Code (for conspiracy) besides booking him under various sections of Prevention of Corruption Act.
Meanwhile, a day after assuring the House that government will request CBI to probe the bribery case, Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar said it might rethink on its decision as the Crime branch was doing a "good" job.
"Crime branch was asked to conduct preliminary investigations into the Louis Berger case so that we can hand over the probe to CBI. But we have found that CB officials are doing a tremendously good job. They visited three states and even got statements from officials who were related to the case," Parsekar.
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