Tainted Goa Cricket Association officials remanded to police custody

Panaji: A magistrate’s court in Panaji on Friday remanded Goa Cricket Association (GCA) president Chetan Dessai, secretary Vinod Phadke and treasurer Akbar Mulla in a one-day police custody after they were arrested for an alleged fraud. Their bail applications would be heard on Saturday. While Dessai and Phadke were admitted in Goa Medical College and Hospital after complaining of high blood pressure after their arrest last evening, Mulla spent the night in the police custody. The Economic Offences Wing of Goa police on Thursday arrested them for alleged misappropriation of over Rs 3 crore belonging to the GCA. [caption id=“attachment_2837726” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational photo. Getty Images[/caption] The EOW had filed an FIR against the trio on 3 June after GCA life member Vilas Desai filed a complaint accusing Chetan Dessai and the other two of forging signatures and opening bank accounts to siphon off the association’s money. They allegedly opened accounts between 23 October, 2006, and 23 May, 2008, when GCA was headed by Dayanand Narvekar, Dessai was its secretary and Phadke the treasurer. They prepared forged documents as well as a resolution of GCA and submitted it to the Development Credit Bank to open an account and then encashed a cheque of Rs 2.87 crore given by BCCI to the GCA, the complaint says. The three are further alleged to have forged signatures and withdrawn Rs 26 lakh from the Federal Bank on the pretext of making payment to a sports goods company called ‘Hako Enterprise’.