Gomes, AAP candidate for CM’s post in Goa, appears before ACB

The 53-year-old AAP candidate, who would be contesting from Cuncolim in South Goa, has been announced as chief ministerial face of the party for the state Assembly polls due in early 2017.

The AAP leader refused to talk to media as he walked into the ACB office. However, the party volunteers displayed placards asking people to chose between “non-corrupt Gomes” and BJP Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar.

Gomes, who was then managing director of Goa Housing Board, and Nilkant Halarnkar, its chairman at that time, allegedly acquired about 30,000 sq m of land near Margao town, changed its ‘zoning’ (reservation) to residential which would have increased its market value, and later gave it back to the owner in 2011, as per the ACB’s FIR.

The board had acquired the land for building residential units and allegedly got its zoning changed from ‘orchard’ to ‘settlement’.

However, Gomes has refuted the allegations against him and said that the timing of summoning him for the inquiry is suspicious.