PANAJI (GOA): The hearing on the petition filed by former Goa Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar against the summons issued to him by North Goa Principal District and Sessions Judge Irshad Agha in the Serula Comunidade cheating and land grab case filed by Adv. Aires Rodrigues, has been adjourned to July 3 by Justice C.V. Bhadang of the High Court of Bombay at Goa, today. Similar petitions filed by the other two accused Peter Martins, then attorney of Comunidade of Serula and Irene Sequeira, then Administrator of Comunidade of Bardez will also be heard along with Dilip Parulekar’s petition.
The three are accused of having committed offences under sections 119, 120, 420 read with 120-B of the Indian Penal Code and Section 13(1) (c) and (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Judge Agha by his order on June 1 held that former Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar had cheated the Comunidade of Serula and public at large in the alleged land grabbing case and that he had falsely appropriated land of Comunidade of Serula in collusion with the Comunidade officials.
Judge Agha, in his order, observed that the entire oral and documentary evidence brought on record clearly shows that the land of Comunidade of Serula has been falsely appropriated by Dilip Parulekar in collusion with Peter Martins and Irene Sequeira.
Pointing out that Dilip Parulekar had cheated Comunidade of Serula and the public at large, Judge Agha in his order also stated that Peter Martins and Irene Sequeira were public servants and they have intentionally and knowingly facilitated the commission of the offence when it was their duty to prevent the offence and that the three had criminally conspired to commit the act of cheating.
The Court, in December last year, while rejecting the plea of the Crime Branch to close the case against Dilip Parulekar and while noting that it was not satisfied with the investigation conducted by the Crime Branch under Section 190 (1) (a) of the Criminal Procedure Code took cognizance of the complaint filed by Adv. Aires Rodrigues and conducted an inquiry.
Strongly opposing the move to close the case, Adv. Rodrigues had submitted to the Court that the Crime Branch in an attempt to shield Dilip Parulekar, had derailed and vitiated the investigation by falsely portraying to the Court that Dilip Parulekar was a poor victim who was misled by the Comunidade officials to grab the land.
Adv. Rodrigues also drew the Court’s attention that the Crime Branch had repeatedly informed the Court that the investigation of the case was almost complete and that only sanction from the government was awaited to prosecute the accused.
On a petition filed by Adv. Aires Rodrigues the Mapusa JMFC on January 16 2014 had directed the Porvorim police to register an FIR against Parulekar, Peter Martins and Irene Sequeira for offences under sections 119, 120, 420 read with 120-B of the Indian Penal Code. The investigation of the case was later transferred to the Crime Branch.
Adv. Rodrigues in his complaint had drawn the Court’s attention that the 599 sq. meters of prime land on the Chogam road at Porvorim was given away to Dilip Parulekar without any auction and without following the procedure contemplated under the Code of Comunidade and that the whole intention was to fraudulently facilitate the doling out prime Comunidade land to Dilip Parulekar.
Adv. Rodrigues further stated that the Comunidade of Serula granted the 599 sq. meters to Dilip Parulekar for a mere Rs. 3,41,320/- though the value of the land was otherwise worth more than a crore, and that Dilip Parulekar in connivance with Peter Martins and Irene Sequeira had grabbed that Comunidade land at a throw away price by illegal means.
Team TNV
