PANAJI
Several individuals, including a minister, an MLA, and some Town and Country Planning officials, are under scrutiny after an audio recording surfaced wherein a caller is heard pressuring a fashion designer’s team to bribe money to resolve a property dispute.
A complaint has been filed with the Cyber Crime Cell against one Crispin Lobo, who can be heard instructing a woman named Madhu, the power of attorney holder for a residential construction project, to pay around Rs 6 crore. He is heard boasting about his connections with a minister and an MLA and advising Madhu against challenging the stay order in the High Court.
Sources informed The Goan that not only Crispin but all persons mentioned in the conversation will be subject to an inquiry. Simultaneously, the seven-minute-long audio will be sent to forensic lab for investigation. The matter pertains to an alleged hill-cutting and the construction project under the Regional Plan 2001 in Pomburpa.
The main respondent, Tarun Tahiliani, had argued in HC that licenses and permissions from various government and local authorities for the construction were lawfully obtained. He had also argued that the petitioners had premised their objections on the plea that the construction under the RP 2001 could not have been granted as the RP 2021 had been published on October 20, 2011. However, it is a matter of public record that the RP 2021 was open for objections from the public up to December 20, 2011, and thereafter kept on hold/ in abeyance.
While the matter is pending a hearing, construction is halted. The concerned departments have also submitted their documents during previous hearings.
