Goa Former CM Pratapsingh Rane's staffer booked for threatening contractor

Goa Police on Monday registered an FIR against a woman staff member of former chief minister Pratapsingh Rane for allegedly threatening a civil contractor.

The accused, Tanuja Khanolkar, has been charged under Indian Penal Code Section 506 (criminal intimidation), an official at Bicholim police station said.

The contractor, Firoz Khan Pathan, in his police complaint said Khanolkar approached him four months back and requested him to renovate her private bungalow at Karapur, Sankhalim in North Goa district.

"As she was having political patronage, I agreed and took the contract for renovating her bungalow at an approximate cost of Rs 10 lakh," Pathan said in his complaint.

Khanolkar is at present the staff member of former CM Rane, who is currently the Congress MLA from Poriem constituency in North Goa district.

The complainant said in October 2019, he started the renovation work without taking any advance payment from the woman and invested his own money to purchase the raw material.

After completing the work, he informed Khanolkar that the total cost of renovation of her residential bungalow was approximately Rs 10 lakh. The woman then told Pathan she would pay later, the police said.

Pathan in his complaint said as the woman was having "political patronage", he remained quiet and left her house.

He later tried calling her up on many occasions for the payment, but every time she gave excuses and was reluctant to pay the money, the official said quoting the complaint.

On February 2, when the contractor called up on her mobile phone asking for money, she allegedly threatened him with dire consequences, he said.

Around 15 days back, when he went to her house asking for the money, the woman allegedly told him she will "finish him by filing a case against him using political pressure", if he came to her residence again, the police said referring to the complaint.

A case has been registered, the official said, adding that no arrest has been made so far.