PANAJI
The fear of land fraud in Goa has increased manifold, with multiple arrests including that of trusted government employees surfacing every passing day. In less than four months of its inception, the Special Investigation Team (SIT), the investigating arm of Goa Police, has received a whopping 343 complaints from families suspecting their properties fell prey to scams.
As preliminary inquiries into voluminous complaints have kept the SIT busy, 14 complaints are converted into First Information Reports (FIRs) and another 28 FIRs from various police stations got transferred to the special team. While these are the stats till date, there are also instances wherein complaints did not find a place in the SIT. Fifteen such complaints are reverted back to concerned police stations to probe the matter at their level.
United Kingdom Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s father’s complaint alleging two of his ancestral properties in Assagao were usurped - a case that later turned out to be a family feud - is pending investigation. The case drew attention for an obvious reason but not until the State encountered the fact that the complaint was following a bitter dispute between Crishtie Fernandes and his brother, who was sent the power of attorney through the Embassy years ago. A recent email communique by the complainant’s wife to local authorities conceding it is a family matter and pending hearing before a civil court has not deterred the SIT from continuing with the probe.
The State woke up to a rude shock mid this year as land grab cases exposed the nexus between the scammers and employees of concerned departments. Quite a few masterminds were taken into custody, though they were fortunate to get conditional bail. As many as 19 persons including ex-Mamlatdar Rahul Dessai are so far arrested, while Royson Rodrigues, Sadric Fernandes, Sunil Kumar, and Rajkumar Maithi are among few re-arrested for their involvement in more than one case of land fraud.
SIT seeks advocate, Portuguese translators to strengthen team
PANAJI: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) is set to strengthen its team with additional experts to prepare a watertight case against the accused involved in the massive land scam.
Sources said that SIT has requested the government to assign a dedicated counsel to assist the investigators from the legal point of view, while another request to Goa University (GU) seeks Portuguese translators.
“The SIT takes the help of public prosecutors whenever required, though it has made a special request to the Legal Department for a dedicated counsel. The team is also looking for experts in translating Portuguese documents, and as such, it has written to GU to appoint one for SIT,” the source said.
Besides over two dozen officers specially designated for the investigation, the SIT also comprises a Deputy Collector, a nominated representative from the Office of Sub Registrar, and officials from Archives & Archaeology among others.
