PANAJI
A confrontation between the prime accused in the jobs-for-cash scam, Pooja Naik and the Crime Branch intensified as Naik said she would turn to a Magistrate in the coming week because she no longer trusts how the Goa police are handling her case.
Naik’s move comes two days after the Crime Branch held a press conference to specially announce that her claims did not corroborate with the evidence gathered so far.
Speaking to The Goan, she alleged tampering with details in her statement. “The Crime Branch made me sit for hours and changed the statement during the questioning... The location, for example... I have said two flats in Porvorim and Secretariat, and they (CB) spoke about some flat. I have handed the cash bribe to both the officers – IAS Nikhil Desai and PWD Chief Engineer Uttam Parsekar at these locations,” she said.
She, however, insisted the names of those she accused in the statement following her fresh allegations remained untouched. “The names of the officers are not changed. I have given the money to them and Minister Sudin Dhavalikar told me to contact Desai and Parsekar,” she claimed.
Naik, who will be represented by Advocate Amit Palekar, said she will write to the Magistrate seeking permission to record her statement under the new criminal procedure law. "I had named the two officers even previously when I was arrested, but there was no action. I named them again now... I will now place everything before the Magistrate," she said.
The accused has already claimed she forwarded around 613 applications between 2019 and 2022, for which job aspirants paid Rs 17.68 crore. “None of them got the job... We were a team of nine people who were tasked with collecting applications and bribe money. I don’t know how much others gave, but these numbers are from my side.”
She further said she had returned part of the money to aspirants after her arrest. “I paid around 18-19 lakh using my savings and selling gold... I have nothing left now, which is why I want Dhavalikar and the two officers to return the money they received as bribes,” she said.
Naik described the financial strain the case has caused her family, including withdrawing her daughter from Class 11 for a year due to unpaid fees. “I have no money to pay school and tuition fees. She is studying Science and that needs huge fees,” she said, adding that her younger child in pre-primary is still attending classes.
SP Rahul Gupta, at a press conference on November 13, stated that Naik herself faces multiple criminal cases, indicating her allegations are not trustworthy without evidence.
“She is an accused in five cases and was released from jail in November last year. Out of these, three have been charge-sheeted and two are still under investigation. Since she has a criminal background, her allegations must be corroborated with independent evidence. Prima facie, the face value of her statement cannot be accepted,” he was quoted as saying.
