On 20th February 2017, Sudip Tamhankar had filed a complaint with the Anti-Corruption Branch against Pramod Sawant, the then Speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly and Chairman of Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) alleging his acquisition of disproportionate assets, cheating, criminal breach of trust and criminal conspiracy.
In that extensively documented complaint, Pramod Sawant was accused of buying properties in the name of a partnership firm M/s Jay Ganesh Developers and Associates set up by him in 2014 as a front with Ranjit Rohidas Mangaonkar, Rupesh Narayan Thanekar and Rajesh Manohar Shirodkar as the other three partners.
In that complaint the ACB was given details of 24 Sale deeds executed within a span of two years by Pramod Sawant’s partnership firm at the office of the Sub- Registrar in Bicholim. Amongst the properties purchased by Pramod Sawant’s partnership firm was land measuring 16,480 sq mts in Bordem at Bicholim for Rs 1,31,84,000 ( one crore thirty one lakhs and eighty four thousand ) and another 19,989 sq mts also at Bordem for an amount of Rs 1,23,34,000 (one crore twenty three lakhs and thirty four thousand).
Tamhankar drew the attention of the ACB that in his nomination at the 2012 Assembly elections Pramod Sawant had stated that his total income for 2010-2011 was only Rs 4,51,653 and his savings including FD’s was a mere Rs 55, 139. On receipt of the complaint and after processing it, the ACB placed it before then Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar who directed that the complaint be first verified if it was genuine by sending a registered AD letter to Sudip Tamhankar to ascertain whether he had in fact filed the complaint.
The ACB accordingly wrote to Sudip Tamhankar on 15th May 2017 requesting him to appear on 5th June 2017 and then by another letter on 6th June 2017 he was asked to appear before the ACB on 14th June 2017. But as Sudip Tamhankar failed to appear before the ACB, the then Chief Minister on 16th June 2018 gave his consent to close the case without conducting a probe.
Why Sudip Tamhankar backed out, only God would know. All that we know is that while he was living in rustic rented premises at Ribandar, he soon moved to a plush residence on Kadamba Road. The rest is a mystery.
