Panaji: Goa Tourism Minister Fransisco
Pacheco was on Tuesday interrogated by crime branch officials in
connection with an extortion case registered against him.
The minister co-operated with us during interrogation,
Deputy Superintendent of Police (crime branch) Chandrakant
Salgaoncar told reporters here.
The minister, accompanied by his officer on special duty,
Lyndon Monteiro, arrived at the crime branch office at Dona
Paula near here at 10.00 am and was interrogated by police
inspector Sunita Sawant for over two hours.
A casino operator in South Goa had alleged that the
minister along with eleven others had demanded extortion money
of Rs 3.69 lakh from him.
Police sources said the minister was shown the CCTV
footage of the casino, trekking his movement on the day when
he allegedly extorted money.
There is contradiction in the complaint and what you can
see on the CCTV footage, Pacheco told reporters, emerging from
the two-hour-long interrogation.
"The footage shows me playing in the casino and not at
a single time, I have extorted the money. I played and
whatever I won, I was paid," the NCP legislator said.
Bureau Report
First Published: Tuesday, September 29, 2009, 15:46