Goa Cricket Association Fraud: Court Raps Cop, Public Prosecutor For Negligence

A local court on Monday pulled up a police officer investigating the alleged Goa Cricket Association (GCA) fraud case and a public prosecutor for "taking things lightly" while seeking remand of the three office-bearers of the body who were arrested last week.

Judicial Magistrate Vijayalaxmi Shivolkar reprimanded IO Shivram Vaingankar and Public Prosecutor Poonam Bharne in the open court after hearing the arguments on the bail applications moved by the trio.

"On June 15, when GCA president Chetan Dessai, secretary Vinod Phadke and treasurer Akbar Mulla were produced before the court, the public prosecutor remained absent while seeking their remand whereas the investigating officer asked for only one-day police custody.

"You were not there when the accused were brought for remand. The investigating officer (police inspector Shivram Vaingankar) asked for only one day police custody stating that minutes of meeting book (of GCA) is yet to be recovered from the accused," Shivolkar told Bharne, after hearing the arguments on bail petition filed by the trio. Both Bharne and Vaingankar were present when the judge passed the strictures against them.

"The PP should have come before the court while seeking remand in such serious offences. The charges are such serious and the PP was not there. For such serious offence, you have taken things such lightly," the judge said.

"The picture has been projected before the appellate authority that I had given only one-day remand for the accused despite such serious charges against them," she added.

The Economic Offences Cell of Goa Police had arrested Dessai, Phadke and Mulla after GCA's life member Vilas Desai filed a case alleging that the trio misappropriated amount of Rs 3.13 crore sanctioned for GCA by the Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI). Meanwhile, adjourning the case until Wednesday, the court has extended the police custody of the accused trio by another four days even as it directed the investigating agency to complete the probe.

Seeking the bail for Dessai and Phadke, senior lawyer Subodh Kantak argued that the accused were arrested despite cooperating with the investigating agency. He said in fact Dessai, Phadke and Mulla had lodged an FIR against "unknown persons" on behalf of GCA in connection with the fraud, but still an FIR was registered against them.