Union minister Naik likely to appear before court as witness in cheating case

Panaji: Union Ayush Minister Shripad Yesso Naik is likely to appear before a court here on Monday as a witness in a cheating case registered against his former staffer.

The case will be heard before Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC), Panaji, Artikumari Naik.

Lawyer Aires Rodrigues, who is representing the complainant Mervin Fernandes in the case, said the minister is expected to appear before the court on Monday.

The minister's former staffer, Vinod Desai, was booked last year under section 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for allegedly demanding Rs 6 lakh from Fernandes under the pretext of providing him with a job in the Goa government. Desai had allegedly taken an advance payment of Rs two lakh from Fernandes.

As Desai failed to keep his promise, Fernandes demanded a refund of his money. However, the cheque of Rs one lakh issued by Desai bounced, following which Fernandes approached Old Goa police on September 20, 2018.

In the FIR, Naik was named as one of the five witnesses in the case. Last month, a Panaji court had issued summons against Naik directing him to depose as a witness in the cheating case.