In a late development Goa Chief Minister laxmikant Parsekar has assured a “swift probe” into allegations leveled against Goa IGP Sunil Garg by a city businessmen accusing the cop of demanding and accepting Rs 5.5 lakh bribe for registration of an FIR.
The businessman Munnalal Halwai on Thursday, released an audio conversation to the media, which purportedly offering a second bribe installment of Rs 50,000 to the senior police official in the latter’s cabin at the police headquarters in Panaji.
Speaking to The Pioneer, Garg has flatly refused the allegation leveled against him by Halwai.
“The IGP demanded Rs 5.5 lakh for registration of an FIR in a cheating case, where I was cheated of Rs 1.15 crore in a deal involving sale of a petrol pump. I paid the money in two installments of Rs 5 lakh and Rs 50,000,” Halwai told reporters at a Press conference in Panaji, where he played out the alleged audio sting conversation between Garg and himself.
Halwai said, that the IGP, the second highest ranked police official in Goa, had initially demanded 10 per cent of the cheated amount to register the FIR, but settled for Rs. 5.5 lakh after bargaining.
Garg has however refuted the allegations leveled against him.
“I flatly deny these allegations. They are false,” Garg told The Pioneer.
The police official said that he could have met Halwai course of his meeting “several people as part of his duties”.
The main opposition party, the Congress, has also now demanded the “immediate suspension” of Garg.
“We strongly demand the immediate suspension of IGP Sunil Garg and would write to the chief minister about the same,” Congress spokesperson Sunil Kawthankar said, while also demanding protection to the whistle-blower.
“Allegations are serious. I’ll have to go into it,” Parsekar told reporters at the State secretariat late on Thursday. “Whenever I come across such situations, it is the police which guides me. When the allegations are against police, I will have to consult some other officer,” the chief minister said, assuring a quick probe.