US firm bribery: Manohar Parrikar and Laxmikant Parsekar hints at two ex-ministers

New Delhi/Panaji: Defence minister Manohar Parrikar and Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar on Sunday sought a CBI investigation into the alleged bribery case involving an American firm to win a contract for a water development scheme in the state while the Congress was in power.

Mr Parrikar, a former Goa CM, also alleged that two former ministers in the previous Congress-led Digambar Kamat government might be involved in the bribery, but didn’t name anyone, according to reports from Panaji.

The reactions by the BJP leaders came after a New Jersey-based construction management firm Louis Berger was accused of bribing Indian officials with crores to win two water development projects in Goa and Guwahati.

The alleged $976,630 bribery for a Goa project included payments to ministers, details of which haven’t yet been disclosed by the US justice department. US federal prosecutors, in an 11-page chargesheet, said Louis Berger maintained a detailed diary and account of the bribery of Indian officials. “Since it is an international matter, the Goa police can’t investigate it.

That is why the government has decided to write to the Prime Minister and Union home minister demanding a CBI inquiry,” Mr Parsekar said.
“When the contracts were awarded, Congress leader Digambar Kamat was chief minister and Churchill Alemao was PWD minister. Now it should be revealed which minister took the bribe,” Mr Parsekar said.

Mr Parrikar said the incident happened when the Digambar Kamat-led government was in power. A probe by CBI into the episode will reveal the truth behind the bribery, he added.