Panaji: In the wake of police personnel on BRICS duty falling ill after consuming stale food, the Goa State Human Rights Commission (GSHRC) on Tuesday directed the government to withhold payments to contractor Amonkar Classic Caterers, Bicholim, pending inquiry into the entire episode.
“Prima facie, it appears that there is a major food scam of 51,60,000 pertaining to substandard and rotten meals that were served to the police personnel deployed at the just-concluded 2016 BRICS summit in Goa,” the commission stated while directing the chief secretary to submit an interim report within 10 days.
“We feel that it is an appropriate case and interim directions should be issued to the chief secretary to conduct a thorough investigation and fix responsibility on defaulting officials,” the commission stated, adding, “It is reported that the meals for the police personnel were prepared in an open place owned by the police department near the Verna police petrol pump next to the Verna church cemetery and roadside labourers were engaged in cooking the substandard food in the most unhygienic conditions. Water was stored in open, plastic barrels and the same water was used for cooking.”
The advocate representing respondent No. 1, the chief secretary, produced a copy of the order conveying government sanction for incurring an expenditure of 51,60,000 towards supply of food packets and refreshments from Amonkar Classic Caterers to 5,000 police personnel who were deployed from October 14 to 17.
The advocates for both respondent No. 1 and respondent No. 2, the director general of police, sought time to file their replies, which the commission granted.
An application was filed on Tuesday by advocate Aires Rodrigues, who placed on record copies of various newspaper clippings, including The Times of India’s report titled, BRICS: 2 cops fall ill after stale dinner’.
A hearing has been scheduled for November 2.
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