Former chief minister Digambar Kamat is once again under the scanner of the investigation agencies, over a year after he was grilled albeit narrowly escaping arrest in the very controversial Louis Berger bribery scandal. And yet again, Kamat – this time being investigated in the massive mining scam – said he is a victim of political frenzy.
The seasoned politician was granted ex-parte ad-interim anticipatory bail by the district court yesterday in the scam that indirectly points at his criminal involvement. Kamat, who has been quizzed a number of time in the international bribery case and is now being probed in the mining scam has accused the BJP-led coalition government of harassing and victimizing him.
“I am being accused of the mining offenses in order to silence me and see that the largest Congress party in Goa which is now 16 seats does not form government under my leadership or otherwise. I have earned the label of a common man leader during the course of my political career. It is pertinent to note that I am being victimised and harassed by the BJP government for oblique reasons from the time it assumed power in Goa in 2012 as the largest party,” he said in the anticipatory bail plea. Kamat had evaded the first summons issued exactly 8 days ago and moved the court for anticipatory bail, one hour before he was asked to appear before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) yesterday.
He brought the attention of the court to the 2015-case wherein Crime Branch (CB), investigating the LB scam had challenged his anticipatory bail till the Supreme Court. The CB had summoned and interrogated him at least four times during the entire course of the investigation and also assisted the Enforcement Directorate in raiding his residential and office premise to gather evidence related to the case.
The Margao legislator had even then termed the entire CB’s investigation as tainted, biased, prejudicial, one-sided, self serving and like a master lodging a complaint and directing his servants or subordinates to enquire into it while referring to Home Department (complainant in the case). “I have reasons to believe that there is a clear mandate by the present government (led by BJP) to falsely implicate me with the object of injuring or humiliating me by having me arrested to settle personal and political scores with me. The grounds of the prosecution against me are whimsical, fanciful, imaginary and self-contradictory,” he had said.
TEAM TNV
