the goan I network
PANAJI
A 26-year-old Nepali man, an ex-employee of a casino has alleged that the casino unfairly held him hostage for four days from December 16 to 20.
The management held him hostage due to a money scam of around Rs 1.83 crore that some employees of the Casino were involved in.
The Nepali man, Chandan Pant, has however denied involvement in the scam, and has filed a written complaint to the Director General of Police (DGP) against the management of the casino, on Saturday. He worked as a cashier in the casino till December 22 when the casino terminated his services.
Backed by Tivim MLA Nilkanth Halarnkar, Pant told media persons at the Congress headquarters, that he was beaten by bouncers from the police force, as they were trying to get him to admit to being involved in the scam.
However, Pant says that casino officials told him that the scam took place between the second week of October and the beginning of November. He says that he was in his hometown in Nepal from October 15 to November 13.
“My services were terminated on December 22, for no fault of my own. The Panaji police forced me to give a written statement saying that I had not complained against the casino. But the casino has my original documents including my 10th and 12th standard certificates, my bank documents, my debit card, and my driving documents, which they are refusing to release,” said Pant, who contacted a lawyer as soon as he could.
Pant further alleges that he was forcefully made to leave his room on the evening of December 24, despite asking the casino for time, as he has no family or home in Goa.
MLA Halarnkar, meanwhile, alleged that the Panaji police, despite being sent by SP (North) to rescue the three boys held hostage at the casino, did nothing to provide the boys with safety. “The police needs to take suo moto cognisance of the situation and look into the matter at the earliest. This is unfair treatment to a boy who has no family in Goa. The casino is treating him unfairly, with support of the police,” said Halarnkar.
