MAPUSA
A prominent Congress leader from North Goa and three others, including the proprietor of Devil's club in Calangute, were booked for extortion, Calangute Police informed.
The North Goa District Congress President Virendra Gurudas Shirodkar, Pailwan, a bouncer in the club, Raymond Charlie Howse (Rambo) and the proprietor of Devil's Bar & Restaurant have been named as accused in the case. Police have arrested one accused Howse while claiming that the other accused were at large.
Police sources informed that the modus operandi used to extort money was the usual drill where the tourists were lured into the club and after the “fun time” the clients were forced to cough up money. The same sources informed that on late Monday evening, three tourists from Hyderabad were lured into the Devil's club where they were forced to pay the initial entry fee of Rs 15,000.
Later, after an hour’s fun time inside the club which included music and dancing in the company of some young women, the three tourists were given a bill of Rs 80,000. When the tourists protested, they were roughed up and forced to pay up.
Interestingly, the tourists contacted a journalist with a local news channel and narrated their tale of woes and on Wednesday, lodged a complaint with the Calangute Police. Police have registered an offence under Sections 392, 427 r/w 34 IPC against the accused. Calangute Police, however, did not mention the name of the proprietor of Devil’s club in the FIR. “We are trying to verify the name of the owner of Devil’ club,” a police official said.
Incidentally, the club is owned by a former MLA who was also a minister in the BJP-led government in 2017.
