By IANS,
Panaji : The crime branch of Goa Police Thursday booked controversial state Tourism Minister Francisco alias Mickky Pacheco for extortion and threatening a casino employee, officials said.
A police spokesman said that Mickky, a Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) legislator, had extorted Rs.3.69 lakh from the management of ‘Treasures’ casino at the Majorda beach resort in South Goa, in the wee hours of June 1.
“We had received the complaint some weeks back. We were conducting preliminary enquiries before finally booking the offence now. The entire incident has been captured on a close circuit camera,” a police officer said.
Mickky has been booked along with 11 others, including the owner of a popular hotel in the tourism minister’s constituency.
“Our preliminary enquiry has revealed that Mr Pacheco entered the casino without purchasing a ticket and threatened the complainant to shell out Rs.3.69 lakh on the pretext of winning the money on the roulette,” police said.
Mickky, who has had several brushes with controversy, has already been chargesheeted earlier for assaulting a government servant. The tourism minister has also been accused of bigamy by his wife Sara Pacheco, who has filed a criminal complaint in this regard.