File photo of Laxmikant Parsekar.
Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar today came out in defence of his brother-in-law and state Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) officer Dilip Malvankar who was arrested by the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) in an alleged graft case.
"Just because he (Dilip Malvankar) is my relative (it) does not mean (that) he should get more punishment. There is a law of the land and it will take care of any wrongdoing, be it by me or any of my relative," Mr Parsekar told reporters.
Mr Malvankar, a field officer in the state-run GIDC, was arrested last August for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh that he had sought for "allotting" land in Tuem industrial estate in North Goa.
However, he was reinstated early last month, evoking sharp criticism from various political parties including Congress and AAP who accused Mr Parsekar of "interference".
The ACB is yet to file a chargesheet against Mr Malvankar. Mr Parsekar, who had denied any interference on his part in the probe against Mr Malvankar, said, "It was me who had decided to suspend Mr Malvankar soon after the allegations against him surfaced. But the suspension has to be reviewed after every three months".
"Even courts have said that instead of giving full salary to a suspended employee let him do some work," he added. Responding to a claims that he was behind the transfer of ACB officials who had trapped Mr Malvankar as alleged by AAP, Mr Parsekar said, "... Are there no transfers happening in ACB? ... Transfer of SPs and DSPs or any other officer after every two years is a routine affair. How can you link it to just one case?"