A more serious instance of the police-criminalnexus may emerge as Goa Government’s Home Department has instituted a Addl.Collector level enquiry into the alleged criminal-police nexus of corruption insecond hand car dealings. On September 14, Home Department issued an order toNarayan Navti, Additional Collector South Goa appointing him as an InquiryOfficer to probe amongst other things the nexus between police officers, transportdepartment officials, criminals and a reputed private sector bank.
The probe, an outcome of thecomplaint filed by Sernabatim resident Jowett D’Souza, lists nine parameters ofthe probe, including why Jowett’s complaint to recover his car from bank’srecovery agents in 2004, was transferred from the Maina-Curtorim Police Stationto Canacona and back for no rhyme or reason. The probe has further ordered anenquiry as to why six investigative officers had to handle the FIR before thefinal charge sheet was filed. Jowett had paid 85% of his loan to the bank, whenit sent its recovery agent to forcibly recover the vehicle. While the case wasbeing investigated, the car was auctioned to the recovery agent, papers were forgedand the car sold in Kerala. The Goa police could not trace it thereafter.
What has alarmed State’s HomeDepartment is the fact that the recovery agent was Floyd Coutinho, who wasallegedly involved in arms running in the infamous Moti Dongor swords seizurecase. Coutinho’s modus operandi, as per police records, was of recoveringvehicles for the bank whose payments were defaulted by loan takers, buying offthe ‘recovered’ vehicles, forging its documents and selling it in other states,an operation worth crores of rupees. The victim Jowett’s painstaking RTIrequests revealed that atleast six of the accused police officers, including SPShekhar Prabhudesai and DySP Gajanan Prabhu Dessai, were in constant touch withFloyd.
This criminal-police nexus isunlike the drugs police-politico nexus, as in this case even Union HomeMinistry has on five occasions, thrice in 2010 and twice in 2011, requestedGoa’s Chief Secretary to probe this matter, but the investigations always camea cropper. In early 2011, Goa’s Home Secretary had even instructed the then DGPto give specific responses but that too was compromised.
Documents with The Goan reveal thatGoa Police worked in very close proximity with notorious criminal FloydCoutinho. Significantly, Home Department’s order also asked Inquiry OfficerNavti to find out why Jowett’s case was not taken seriously, in the light ofthe fact that Floyd was allegedly involved in Moti Dongor Sword seizure caseand was connected with purchase of cars with forged papers and destruction ofevidence, such as burning of the Innova Car allegedly involved in sword seizurecase.
The case promises to open a can ofworms, as Jowett’s case has not only been systematically stymied, but also not pursued.
