The Goa Police Crime Branch has filed a chargesheet against seven accused persons in the Louis Berger case including Churchill Alemão, James McClung and Louis Berger Group Inc, based in New Jersey in the USA.
PANAJI
The chargesheet under sections accuses the seven -- Churchill Alemão, Anand Wachasundar, Satyakam Mohanty, Raichand Soni, James McClung, Louis Berger Group Inc, USA and Arthur D’Silva, of charges under sections 7, 8, 9 and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act as well as sections 120B and 201 of the Indian Penal Code.
Alemão was the former Minister for Public Works in the erstwhile Congress government and Anand Wachasundar was the project director of the JICA project.
Among officials of Louis Berger Group Inc, Satyakam Mohanty, who was vice president of the company has been named as an accused and James McClung, who was incharge of the India operations at the time the bribes were paid has been named as accused.
Sanjay Jindal and Shiv Ram Prasad Malladi have been made a witnesses in the case. While Jindal was Regional Director of the Louis Berger Group and has said in statements recorded before the magistrate, Shiv Ram Prasad Malladi is another official of the company, whose statement has been recorded and been made a witness.
“(The) Accused Louis Berger International Inc, USA, a foreign company criminally conspired with the accused prime conspirator Digambar Kamat and the accused (the seven persons named in the charge sheet) thereby paying gratification other than legal remuneration...in violation of their lawful duty… thereby securing an improper advantage in order to obtain and retain contracts with the government entities and thus enrich the accused Louis Berger International Inc. India company,” the charge sheet reads.
“Investigations carried out so far reveals that the prime conspirator Digambar Kamat the then Chief Minister and Churchill the then PWD Minister in the Government of Goa in the year 2009-2011 accepted illegal gratification in cash of `1.20 crore and `75-lakh (total `1.95 crore) respectively from Louis Berger International Inc for JICA consultancy work.
The chargesheet also states that the accused Anand Wachasundar the then project director acted as a facilitator between accused James McClung and Satyakam Mohanty and the then chief minister Digambar Kamat and Churchill Alemão Goa in the year 2009-2011 for the payments of bribe amounts of `1.95 crore
