Panaji: Goa Pradesh Congress Committee Media & Communication Chairman Amarnath Panjikar today demanded an immediate, independent and time-bound investigation into the serious allegations of an alleged informal food business and cash economy operating inside Colvale Central Jail.
Reacting to the reported allegations of ₹7,000 tandoori meals, ₹1,000 fried rice, ₹500 fish and coriander, diversion of government-supplied food items, and alleged payments for bringing unauthorised articles including televisions into the jail, Panjikar said the matter cannot be treated as a routine administrative lapse.
“These are extremely serious allegations involving a government prison. If even a fraction of these allegations is true, it raises fundamental questions about prison security, supervision and accountability under the Home Department,” Panjikar said.
Panjikar demanded that Chief Minister and Home Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant immediately order an impartial inquiry and preserve and examine CCTV footage, prison gate-entry records, visitor registers, mess and kitchen records, ration-stock registers and procurement documents.
He also demanded a complete audit of government-supplied food provisions and an investigation into who allegedly prepared and sold food, who collected the money, whether government supplies were diverted, and whether any officials or outsiders facilitated unauthorised items entering the prison.
“Dr. Pramod Sawant cannot remain silent when allegations of an alleged parallel cash economy are being reported from an institution under his Home Department. If the allegations are false, establish the truth. If they are true, fix responsibility and take action irrespective of rank or position,” Panjikar said.
“The government must investigate the allegations, not investigate the messenger. Goans deserve transparency, accountability and a prison administration governed by law—not an alleged marketplace behind prison walls,” he added.
