Ex-official claims he was witness to bribe being paid to ex-CM Kamat

In what could spell trouble for former Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat in Louis Berger <g data-gr-id="21">pay off</g> scam, a former official, now under arrest, has claimed before a court that he was a witness to bribe being given to him.

A Wachasunder, former director of JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) water project in Goa, told Judicial Magistrate B P Deshpande on Monday that “he was witness to the payment of bribe money to Kamat and former Public Works Department Minister Churchill Alemao,” according to a senior Goa Police Crime Branch official.

61-year-old Kamat has been questioned by the Crime Branch in connection with alleged bribery in awarding of a consultancy contract to the US firm for a major water development project in Goa.

“Wachasunder gave graphic details before the magistrate on how the bribe was paid, where it was paid and how much money was paid to Kamat and Alemao,” the Crime Branch official said, 

requesting anonymity.

The magistrate has recorded Wachasunder’s statement under section 164 of CrPC. His custodial interrogation had thrown light on certain facts about this case, the officer said.