Louis Berger case: Court to hear Kamat’s bail plea on Aug 7

A local court on Wednesday fixed August 7 for hearing the anticipatory bail application of former Goa chief minister Digambar Kamat who has been questioned by Crime Branch in connection with the Louis Berger bribery scandal.

The district and sessions court reserved the hearing after the Crime Branch stated in the afternoon that it was not ready with <g data-gr-id="22">reply</g> to the notice it had received from the court on Kamat’s plea. Kamat had moved the court on Tuesday fearing arrest in connection with the scandal involving the US-based firm.

The 61-year-old Congress leader was heading the state between 2007-2012 when the New Jersey-based consultancy firm allegedly doled out bribes to a Goa minister to win the consultancy for a water project under the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) funding.

Kamat, along with the then PWD minister Churchill Alemao, was questioned by the Crime Branch twice last week.

In a related development, the court remanded former JICA director for Goa, Anand Wachasunder in judicial custody for seven days. The Crime Branch had separately arrested Wachasunder and former vice-president of Louis Berger, Satyakam Mohanty in connection with the case.