The bail application of former PWD minister Churchill Alemao who was arrested in connection with the Louis Berger bribery scam, was rejected the second time by the special court in Panaji on Monday.
The special judge BP Deshpande, pronounced an order in open court. Alemao was arrested on August 5 and has been in custody ever since.
Alemao was the PWD minister from 2007 to 2012. JICA projects come under PWD. Alemao who has been remanded to judicial custody is lodged in the new central jail in Colvale.
Observing that the community’s collective interest outweighs the right to personal liberty, the special court had rejected the first bail application of Alemao in the alleged Rs 6 crore-Louis Berger bribery case.
Crime branch of the Goa police investigating the case has said that bribes were paid to Alemao and former chief minister Digambar Kamat for granting of consultancy contracts for JICA-funded water and sewerage projects in Goa.
The special court had granted anticipatory bail to Kamat last week.
