PANAJI
The State government is in no mood to revoke the suspension of Harish Naik, head clerk in the excise department, whose suspension has been extended at least four times since last June after The Goan’s exposé of his alleged involvement in fund misappropriation.
While the Vigilance Department approved the revocation of suspensions for inspectors Durgesh Naik and Vibhuti Shetye, who were suspended for procedural lapses; Harish Naik’s suspension will continue until September 19, 2024.
“The suspension Review Committee deliberated upon the issue and noticed that the vigilance department/ anti corruption branch stated that the role of Harish Naik, Upper Division Clerk, Excise Station Pernem is predominantly made out in the case. Therefore the committee decided to extend the suspension period by another 90 days,” stated a confidential report, which was tabled in the assembly on Tuesday.
The Vigilance Department indicated insufficient evidence against Durgesh Naik and Vibhuti Shetye at this stage, as only their system was used by the UDC; prompting the Suspension Review Committee to revoke their suspensions.
Harish Naik is accused of accepting cash payments from license holders for renewals while stationed at Pernem and failing to deposit the funds into the government treasury.
He allegedly forged payment receipts using the login IDs of the excise inspectors, who then signed the receipts without verification. The inspectors also did not verify whether the funds were credited to the bank. After The Goan’s exposé, an inquiry led to the recovery of Rs 27,78,150 plus interest from Harish Naik, who was subsequently suspended along with the two inspectors.
The assembly was informed that out of 76 licenses, majority of these were renewed by Durgesh Naik and Vibhuti Shetye from December 2017 to January 2022. Show cause notices were sent to four other inspectors seeking an explanation for renewing licenses without verification. A total of 36 renewal licenses were signed by Durgesh Naik, 20 by Vibhuti Shetye; seven by Ashok Gaonkar, four by Kamlesh Majik and one each by Surekha Gohar and Amol Harwalkar.
