PANAJI
The Anti Corruption Branch of Directorate of Vigilance on Saturday questioned former revenue minister, Jose Philip D'Souza in connection with the Goa Housing Board irregularities case.
D'Souza, who is expected to remain present before the investigating agency in the coming week, visited the ACB office on Saturday.
ACB sought explanation from the former minister, who is the current president of Nationalist Congress Party, about the procedures followed by the department when it was headed by him, upon receiving the file for land acquisition in the year 2010.
ACB has also issued summons to Aam Aadmi Party chief ministerial candidate and former bureaucrat, Elvis Gomes and former minister, Nilkanth Halarnkar in the matter. Both the accused have been ordered to remain present before the investigating authorities on December 26.
ACB had in June registered an FIR against former managing director of Goa Housing Board, Elvis Gomes as the main accused in the case of irregularities and malpractices in GHB between 2007 and 2015 in connection with acquisition of 30,256 sq mts of land in Margao meant for a housing scheme.
Former chairman of GHB, Nilkanth Halarnkar was also named as an accused along with one Vincent Gracias
The FIR said that these persons along with 19 other persons, submitted an application which resulted in the dropping of land acquisition process, four years after being initiated.
​The trio have been booked under charges of criminal conspiracy and cheating as well as under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.​
The complaint hinting at wrongdoings in GHB land acquisition process initiated on December 17, 2007 was received by Directorate of Vigilance on February 12 this year. The complaint stated that GHB officers in connivance with around 19 other persons acted to drop the land acquisition procedure.
