Rs 65L college equipment lies unused
Pharmacy College Paid In Full Without Delivery Of Quality Machinery: Report
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: In a shocking development, state-of-the-art equipment purchased in 2006 at the cost of Rs 65 lakh for use at the Goa college of pharmacy is lying unused at the institution.
A sub-committee, appointed by the college management, that looked into the purchases noted, “Prima facie, it is a case for further investigation. The installation report of the machines has been prepared without checking and actually installing the equipment. The 100% payment was done without getting quality equipment delivered. (There has been) no benefit to students despite (the equipment) lying in (the) college for more than one year”.
The report of the sub-committee was submitted to the state government on October 11, 2008. Technical education director Vivek Kamat confirmed the receipt of the report, but said, “At this stage, we can’t say anything. We have asked for some more information.”
Officiating college principal M G Pai, however, refused to comment on the report and said, “The matter is with the government. Let the government go through the matter and if there is anything we will take action.”
The pharmacy college with 450 students, one of the oldest institutes in the state, has been constantly gripped by problems due to a lack of infrastructure and facilities.
In 2006, chief secretary J P Singh had sanctioned the additional funds for acquiring machinery and equipment for the college. The machines purchased included, telemetry DSI data acquisition, auto track animal activity meter, hot plate analgesic meter and biopack, organ bath set-up, rat restrainer, ECG and other equipment worth Rs 65 lakh. These machines, used for developing new drugs and studying the effect of drugs on animals, were purchased from Gentech Marketing and Distribution (P) Ltd in August 2006.
According to the report, besides procedural lapses, there are also technical lapses. “It appears that the purchase committee decided to purchase the equipment on its own initiative. All members (were) not aware as there are no minutes of any meeting/s of the purchase committee and the signatures of all members are not available especially at crucial decision points,” the report states.
Besides procedural lapses, the report points out to technical flaws in the purchase. “While quoting (for) this item, M/s Gentech included an additional cost of $2800 towards training. As per the special conditions of the tender, the training should have been free. Installation of the equipment and the training is suspect, since M/s Gentech has specifically stated that a ‘starter kit’ is for training and demonstration. This essential part was supplied only in May 2008. Even on May 22, 2008, the company failed to demonstrate the proper working of the machinery”, the report notes.
Noting that instead of installing the equipment, it was dumped in a room, the report added, “All the payments were made in advance. Ninety per cent (of the) payment was to be made against irrevocable letter of credit or draft at sight. The balance 10% was to be paid on completion of supply, installation and acceptance of the equipment. Advance payment was not allowed.”
October 21, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Sexual Abuse case German woman lodges plaint against Jennifer
SEXUAL ABUSE CASE
German woman lodges plaint against Jennifer
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Panaji: The German mother, who has alleged that her minor daughter has been raped and sexually abused by the education minister’s son Rohit Monserrate, has now lodged a complaint against Rohit’s mother Jennifer for coming to her house on October 3 to coax her to withdraw the complaint filed by her (German mother).
The German mother had filed a complaint on October 2, alleging, “I know my daughter is being sexually used by a man much elder than her. This person is contacting her on her mobile phone and maybe via the internet.” The 14-year-old girl had dropped out of a Panaji school last year and is now studying in an open school.
The mother, in her latest complaint to the police, alleged that Jennifer had “come to my house on the evening of October 3, 2008 in an attempt to coax me to withdraw the complaint.”
Stating that she was surprised that Jennifer is denying coming to her house, she
said, “I have now found the piece of paper on which Mrs Jennifer Monserrate in her own handwriting had written down her mobile numbers and asked me to call her to settle the issue.” The mother, in her letter to the police on Saturday, has demanded that an offence be registered against Jennifer under Section 195A of the IPC r/w Section 506 of IPC.
When contacted, SP (North) Bosco George admitted that he had received the complaint. “We will investigate it with the existing complaint against Rohit Monserrate and his father.”
The German mother’s counsel Aires Rodrigues alleged, “Jennifer, instead of facing the truth, has tried to malign a fourteen-year-old child. She had first tried to convince the mother along with Rohit’s girlfriend and a teacher from a school in Panaji. However, the mother is determined to take the case to its logical conclusion.”
He added that they would demand that the paper with Jennifer’s handwriting should be sent for handwriting verification.
October 19,2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
German woman lodges plaint against Jennifer
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Panaji: The German mother, who has alleged that her minor daughter has been raped and sexually abused by the education minister’s son Rohit Monserrate, has now lodged a complaint against Rohit’s mother Jennifer for coming to her house on October 3 to coax her to withdraw the complaint filed by her (German mother).
The German mother had filed a complaint on October 2, alleging, “I know my daughter is being sexually used by a man much elder than her. This person is contacting her on her mobile phone and maybe via the internet.” The 14-year-old girl had dropped out of a Panaji school last year and is now studying in an open school.
The mother, in her latest complaint to the police, alleged that Jennifer had “come to my house on the evening of October 3, 2008 in an attempt to coax me to withdraw the complaint.”
Stating that she was surprised that Jennifer is denying coming to her house, she
said, “I have now found the piece of paper on which Mrs Jennifer Monserrate in her own handwriting had written down her mobile numbers and asked me to call her to settle the issue.” The mother, in her letter to the police on Saturday, has demanded that an offence be registered against Jennifer under Section 195A of the IPC r/w Section 506 of IPC.
When contacted, SP (North) Bosco George admitted that he had received the complaint. “We will investigate it with the existing complaint against Rohit Monserrate and his father.”
The German mother’s counsel Aires Rodrigues alleged, “Jennifer, instead of facing the truth, has tried to malign a fourteen-year-old child. She had first tried to convince the mother along with Rohit’s girlfriend and a teacher from a school in Panaji. However, the mother is determined to take the case to its logical conclusion.”
He added that they would demand that the paper with Jennifer’s handwriting should be sent for handwriting verification.
October 19,2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
German girl gets into public fight with mom
German girl gets into public fight with mom
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Panaji: The 14-year-old German girl allegedy raped by Goa education minister Atanasio Monserrate’s son Rohit on Saturday once again refused to let the police record her statement. She also got into a public fight with her mother.
The police had fixed a meeting at among the girl, child activists and child clinical psychologists at 4 pm at her residence to record her statement. However, the girl refused to give her statement and insisted with her mother that she wanted to go to Panaji to meet a friend, police sources told TOI.
“When the mother disagreed, there was an argument between the two. The girl was then put in a police jeep to be taken to Panaji. But she jumped out, threw her purse at her mother and insisted on taking a bus. The child activists intervened and took her to Panaji in a car, followed by the police vehicle,” police sources said.
SP (North) Bosco George said, “She did have an argument with her mother. We are still waiting for her statement and would like to have her statement as soon as possible.”
Incidentally, the minor has been described by a former teacher as a “quiet, self-contained” girl with a good academic record. “She, however, tends to get distracted easily in class. This has resulted in low grades,” she said.
Aires, Prajal discharged
Panaji: Activist and advocate Aires Rodrigues and historian Prajal Sakhardande, who were attacked by some masked men at a city hotel on Monday night, were discharged from hospital on Saturday. Meanwhile, the police are still to make any breakthrough in the investigations into the case. Although five persons were arrested from Mahabaleswar on Friday, no real link has been established so far. ‘She was a good student in bad company’
Panaji: The German girl allegedly raped by education minister Atanasio Monserrate’s son Rohit is intelligent but would easily get distracted in class, resulting in low grades, according to a former teacher.
“She needs to pull herself up through concentrated study to improve her marks, especially in French, maths and science,” states her progress report for the first term 2007-2008 prepared by her class teacher on October 6, 2007.
She was studying in a popular school in the capital city and had scored excellent marks in German but flunked French, maths and science.
Now she is is doing her Standard X through the National Institute of Open Schooling and will be taking her board exams next year.
Her mother recollects how good her daughter was in Bharatnatyam and how she had won accolades for participation in Marathi and Konkani school plays.
“She was a very good student. But it is all over now. I had tried several times to get her to develop new hobbies and enrolled her in several classes, but failed. That is very sad, especially because she is very talented,” said the mother.
“She got into bad company and somehow things changed. I wanted to be a liberal mother but when I realised what my daughter was going through it was too late,” she said.
Stating that “we are all social beings who like to choose our friends and company”, she said, “I thought her friends were honest. But nobody can see through a person’s heart. Most of them were my daughter’s age and would go out together. I did not find anything abnormal till I saw the SMSs.”
October 19,2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Panaji: The 14-year-old German girl allegedy raped by Goa education minister Atanasio Monserrate’s son Rohit on Saturday once again refused to let the police record her statement. She also got into a public fight with her mother.
The police had fixed a meeting at among the girl, child activists and child clinical psychologists at 4 pm at her residence to record her statement. However, the girl refused to give her statement and insisted with her mother that she wanted to go to Panaji to meet a friend, police sources told TOI.
“When the mother disagreed, there was an argument between the two. The girl was then put in a police jeep to be taken to Panaji. But she jumped out, threw her purse at her mother and insisted on taking a bus. The child activists intervened and took her to Panaji in a car, followed by the police vehicle,” police sources said.
SP (North) Bosco George said, “She did have an argument with her mother. We are still waiting for her statement and would like to have her statement as soon as possible.”
Incidentally, the minor has been described by a former teacher as a “quiet, self-contained” girl with a good academic record. “She, however, tends to get distracted easily in class. This has resulted in low grades,” she said.
Aires, Prajal discharged
Panaji: Activist and advocate Aires Rodrigues and historian Prajal Sakhardande, who were attacked by some masked men at a city hotel on Monday night, were discharged from hospital on Saturday. Meanwhile, the police are still to make any breakthrough in the investigations into the case. Although five persons were arrested from Mahabaleswar on Friday, no real link has been established so far. ‘She was a good student in bad company’
Panaji: The German girl allegedly raped by education minister Atanasio Monserrate’s son Rohit is intelligent but would easily get distracted in class, resulting in low grades, according to a former teacher.
“She needs to pull herself up through concentrated study to improve her marks, especially in French, maths and science,” states her progress report for the first term 2007-2008 prepared by her class teacher on October 6, 2007.
She was studying in a popular school in the capital city and had scored excellent marks in German but flunked French, maths and science.
Now she is is doing her Standard X through the National Institute of Open Schooling and will be taking her board exams next year.
Her mother recollects how good her daughter was in Bharatnatyam and how she had won accolades for participation in Marathi and Konkani school plays.
“She was a very good student. But it is all over now. I had tried several times to get her to develop new hobbies and enrolled her in several classes, but failed. That is very sad, especially because she is very talented,” said the mother.
“She got into bad company and somehow things changed. I wanted to be a liberal mother but when I realised what my daughter was going through it was too late,” she said.
Stating that “we are all social beings who like to choose our friends and company”, she said, “I thought her friends were honest. But nobody can see through a person’s heart. Most of them were my daughter’s age and would go out together. I did not find anything abnormal till I saw the SMSs.”
October 19,2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Friday, October 17, 2008
SEARCH CONTINUES ‘We do not know where Rohit is’
SEARCH CONTINUES
‘We do not know where Rohit is’
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Panaji: Education minister’s son Rohit Monserrate will not be able to leave the country now with the police issuing a lookout circular against him.
“If a person is not available for investigations, we issue a LOC. We have no knowledge where Rohit is. Neither have we received any missing complaint,” said SP (North) Bosco George.
Incidentally, cops who had raided Monserrate’s houses on Tuesday in search of Rohit after registering a complaint against him for sexually assaulting, outraging the modesty and raping the minor, have decided to put off Rohit’s arrest, till the minor’s statement is recorded.
“Till we take the girl’s statement or do a medical examination, we will defer the arrest,” said SP George.
For the third consecutive day police, who had sought the help of child activist and child clinical psychologist to counsel the girl to give her statement and go for a medical examination, failed to get a positive response.
“The minor had in the past attempted to commit suicide twice and we don’t want to put any pressure on the girl,” said a senior police official.
The police believe that though the case may weaken without the minor’s statement or medical examination, it will not collapse. “I don’t think that the case will collapse. There is sufficient material for investigations to continue in this case,” said SP George.
Meanwhile, the police recorded the detailed statement of the mother and attached the mobile along with the SIM card and will be sending it to CFSL, Hyderabad for forensic examinations. They have also attached the minor’s passport which confirms her age as 14 years.
Police sources said that the mother has given detailed information of the last one year and explained how and when her daughter was abused by Rohit. “We have recorded the mother’s detailed statement. She was cooperative,” SP George added.
Incidentally, Jennifer Monserrate, mother of Rohit, who has also been served summons by the Calangute police to appear before them at 10 am on Thursday, didn’t turn up. The German mother had alleged that Jennifer had gone to her house on October 3, asking her to withdraw the complaint.
October 17, The Times of India, Goa edition
‘We do not know where Rohit is’
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Panaji: Education minister’s son Rohit Monserrate will not be able to leave the country now with the police issuing a lookout circular against him.
“If a person is not available for investigations, we issue a LOC. We have no knowledge where Rohit is. Neither have we received any missing complaint,” said SP (North) Bosco George.
Incidentally, cops who had raided Monserrate’s houses on Tuesday in search of Rohit after registering a complaint against him for sexually assaulting, outraging the modesty and raping the minor, have decided to put off Rohit’s arrest, till the minor’s statement is recorded.
“Till we take the girl’s statement or do a medical examination, we will defer the arrest,” said SP George.
For the third consecutive day police, who had sought the help of child activist and child clinical psychologist to counsel the girl to give her statement and go for a medical examination, failed to get a positive response.
“The minor had in the past attempted to commit suicide twice and we don’t want to put any pressure on the girl,” said a senior police official.
The police believe that though the case may weaken without the minor’s statement or medical examination, it will not collapse. “I don’t think that the case will collapse. There is sufficient material for investigations to continue in this case,” said SP George.
Meanwhile, the police recorded the detailed statement of the mother and attached the mobile along with the SIM card and will be sending it to CFSL, Hyderabad for forensic examinations. They have also attached the minor’s passport which confirms her age as 14 years.
Police sources said that the mother has given detailed information of the last one year and explained how and when her daughter was abused by Rohit. “We have recorded the mother’s detailed statement. She was cooperative,” SP George added.
Incidentally, Jennifer Monserrate, mother of Rohit, who has also been served summons by the Calangute police to appear before them at 10 am on Thursday, didn’t turn up. The German mother had alleged that Jennifer had gone to her house on October 3, asking her to withdraw the complaint.
October 17, The Times of India, Goa edition
Now, a complaint against Naik’s son
Now, a complaint against Naik’s son
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Panaji: A day after Atanasio ‘Babush’ Monserrate alleged that home minister Ravi Naik had allowed the police to book rape charges against his son Rohit while ignoring cases against his own son Roy, an NGO filed a complaint with the Panaji police alleging Roy’s involvement in the murders of Britishers Scarlett Keeling and Stephen Bennett.
The NGO’s complaint was based solely on purported newspaper reports in Britain and posts on the internet.
The NGO, Green Goa Foundation, claimed to take up matters of public interest.
When contacted, SP (North) Bosco George said, “I have not received the copy of the complaint. However, we have investigated the Scarlett case and filed the chargesheet. Now the CBI is investigating the case. Bennett’s murder investigation doesn’t concern Goa police as the incident occurred in Maharashtra.”
Green Goa Foundation said in its complaint that Goa was a high profile tourist destination and it was therefore essential that a wrong impression about the safety and security of foreign tourists is not given.
October 17,2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Panaji: A day after Atanasio ‘Babush’ Monserrate alleged that home minister Ravi Naik had allowed the police to book rape charges against his son Rohit while ignoring cases against his own son Roy, an NGO filed a complaint with the Panaji police alleging Roy’s involvement in the murders of Britishers Scarlett Keeling and Stephen Bennett.
The NGO’s complaint was based solely on purported newspaper reports in Britain and posts on the internet.
The NGO, Green Goa Foundation, claimed to take up matters of public interest.
When contacted, SP (North) Bosco George said, “I have not received the copy of the complaint. However, we have investigated the Scarlett case and filed the chargesheet. Now the CBI is investigating the case. Bennett’s murder investigation doesn’t concern Goa police as the incident occurred in Maharashtra.”
Green Goa Foundation said in its complaint that Goa was a high profile tourist destination and it was therefore essential that a wrong impression about the safety and security of foreign tourists is not given.
October 17,2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
German minor girl:Rohit’s parents vouch for his innocence
Rohit’s parents vouch for his innocence
Accuse Ravi Naik Of Targeting Their Family, Claim Cops Acting In Biased Manner
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Panaji: The parents of Rohit Monseratte, who has been accused of raping a minor German girl, on Wednesday night claimed that their son is innocent and that they were trying to locate him. They alleged that home minister Ravi Naik was targeting the education minister and his family and the police were acting in a “biased manner”.
“We are trying to locate Rohit. He is not in the house and we don’t know where he is. It has been over a week and he has not contacted us,” said Rohit’s mother Jennifer Monseratte. Babush however said that Rohit is “very much around”. Speaking to presspersons, Jennifer, who has also been served summons by the Calangute police on Wednesday to appear before them, said, “I am here to give my side of the story. The police have not followed proper procedures in filing the FIR. The girl has neither given her statement nor has she been sent for a medical examination, yet the police has registered a case against my son and accused him of rape”. My son is not even friends with the minor girl, the mother added.
“If there has been rape, when and where was the minor raped? Why is the police working hard to cajole the girl to go for a medical examination? If she was raped she would have willingly gone to the hospital,” she said.
She alleged that the messages may have been manipulated. “I don’t even know who was using the cellphone. Rohit was definitely not using the mobile phone from which the SMSs were sent,” she said.
“Everytime they want to get at my husband, my children are targeted. This time Rohit is being targeted when the mobile is not even in his name. The mobile to which the SMSs were sent is not in the girl’s name but in her mother’s. Maybe someone had sent the SMSs to the mother,” alleged Jennifer. When asked if her husband, in whose name the mobile Rohit used is said to be registered, sent the SMSs to the German woman, she just smiled. Explaining why her son is scared to come home, she said that her children don’t trust the Goa police. “We don’t think our children can be safe with the police, especially after the manner in which my second son Amit was dragged and beaten up by the police in February”, she said.
Casting aspersions on the character of the girl, Jennifer asked, “The minor is not in school. What kind of a girl is she if she can be lured by gifts? Why are the police taking the foreigner’s words as gospel truth. Is this one big conspiracy?” Jennifer also denied going to the German mother’s home. The German mother had alleged that Jennifer had gone to her house on October 3, asking her to withdraw the complaint.
“The police are controlled by the home minister. Why is the police department using a different yardstick for me and my sons and a different yardstick for him and his sons. There were so many allegations against his family but the police never acted,” alleged Babush. Asked if he feared an arrest in this case, he said anything was possible. “They have done it before, and can do it again.” Alleging that the Goa police are biased against his family, he said, “Ravi Naik is targeting me and using the entire police force against me. It’s for the chief minister, cabinet members and other MLAs to realise that today it’s my family but tomorrow it can be their family.
October 16,2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Accuse Ravi Naik Of Targeting Their Family, Claim Cops Acting In Biased Manner
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Panaji: The parents of Rohit Monseratte, who has been accused of raping a minor German girl, on Wednesday night claimed that their son is innocent and that they were trying to locate him. They alleged that home minister Ravi Naik was targeting the education minister and his family and the police were acting in a “biased manner”.
“We are trying to locate Rohit. He is not in the house and we don’t know where he is. It has been over a week and he has not contacted us,” said Rohit’s mother Jennifer Monseratte. Babush however said that Rohit is “very much around”. Speaking to presspersons, Jennifer, who has also been served summons by the Calangute police on Wednesday to appear before them, said, “I am here to give my side of the story. The police have not followed proper procedures in filing the FIR. The girl has neither given her statement nor has she been sent for a medical examination, yet the police has registered a case against my son and accused him of rape”. My son is not even friends with the minor girl, the mother added.
“If there has been rape, when and where was the minor raped? Why is the police working hard to cajole the girl to go for a medical examination? If she was raped she would have willingly gone to the hospital,” she said.
She alleged that the messages may have been manipulated. “I don’t even know who was using the cellphone. Rohit was definitely not using the mobile phone from which the SMSs were sent,” she said.
“Everytime they want to get at my husband, my children are targeted. This time Rohit is being targeted when the mobile is not even in his name. The mobile to which the SMSs were sent is not in the girl’s name but in her mother’s. Maybe someone had sent the SMSs to the mother,” alleged Jennifer. When asked if her husband, in whose name the mobile Rohit used is said to be registered, sent the SMSs to the German woman, she just smiled. Explaining why her son is scared to come home, she said that her children don’t trust the Goa police. “We don’t think our children can be safe with the police, especially after the manner in which my second son Amit was dragged and beaten up by the police in February”, she said.
Casting aspersions on the character of the girl, Jennifer asked, “The minor is not in school. What kind of a girl is she if she can be lured by gifts? Why are the police taking the foreigner’s words as gospel truth. Is this one big conspiracy?” Jennifer also denied going to the German mother’s home. The German mother had alleged that Jennifer had gone to her house on October 3, asking her to withdraw the complaint.
“The police are controlled by the home minister. Why is the police department using a different yardstick for me and my sons and a different yardstick for him and his sons. There were so many allegations against his family but the police never acted,” alleged Babush. Asked if he feared an arrest in this case, he said anything was possible. “They have done it before, and can do it again.” Alleging that the Goa police are biased against his family, he said, “Ravi Naik is targeting me and using the entire police force against me. It’s for the chief minister, cabinet members and other MLAs to realise that today it’s my family but tomorrow it can be their family.
October 16,2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Prostitution racket busted at Porvorim
Prostitution racket busted at Porvorim
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Panaji: Crime branch sleuths busted a prostitution racket operating from a car on NH 17 at O Coqueiro junction, Porvorim and rescued three women. However, the person accused of procuring girls for running the racket is absconding.
Investigating officer PI (crime branch) Sunita Sawant said, “Acting on information that a man was getting girls in Wagon R to the junction for the purpose of prostitution, we reached the spot when we saw three women sitting in the wagon R. Nobody was in the driver’s seat and these three women
were sitting in the back seat.”
According to the PI, these women were brought to Goa with a promise of a job in the hotel industry. When they reached Goa from Mumbai, they were pushed into prostitution and told that they would be paid Rs 15,000 at the end of 15 days. The girls, two of them from West Bengal and one from Assam, all in their early twenties, said they had come by bus from Mumbai two days back and were picked up by one Patel from the Panaji bus stand.
They were taken to the same spot everyday at 5 pm and picked up the next morning. Explaining the modus operandi, PI Sawant said, “Patel would park the car with the women near the Karnataka bank and then go to the busy junction at Porvorim to procure customers. The customers had to hire a taxi in which they took the women for the night. Next morning, the women had to be dropped at the same spot”, said PI Sawant. According to the women, the customers had to pay Rs 6,000 per night to Patel, of which Rs 1000 was paid to the girls.
Patel has been booked by the police for procuring girls, forcing them into prostitution, living on their earnings and indulging in prostitution within 200m of the place of worship, ie the Holy Family church.
October 16,2008, The Times of India, Goa
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Panaji: Crime branch sleuths busted a prostitution racket operating from a car on NH 17 at O Coqueiro junction, Porvorim and rescued three women. However, the person accused of procuring girls for running the racket is absconding.
Investigating officer PI (crime branch) Sunita Sawant said, “Acting on information that a man was getting girls in Wagon R to the junction for the purpose of prostitution, we reached the spot when we saw three women sitting in the wagon R. Nobody was in the driver’s seat and these three women
were sitting in the back seat.”
According to the PI, these women were brought to Goa with a promise of a job in the hotel industry. When they reached Goa from Mumbai, they were pushed into prostitution and told that they would be paid Rs 15,000 at the end of 15 days. The girls, two of them from West Bengal and one from Assam, all in their early twenties, said they had come by bus from Mumbai two days back and were picked up by one Patel from the Panaji bus stand.
They were taken to the same spot everyday at 5 pm and picked up the next morning. Explaining the modus operandi, PI Sawant said, “Patel would park the car with the women near the Karnataka bank and then go to the busy junction at Porvorim to procure customers. The customers had to hire a taxi in which they took the women for the night. Next morning, the women had to be dropped at the same spot”, said PI Sawant. According to the women, the customers had to pay Rs 6,000 per night to Patel, of which Rs 1000 was paid to the girls.
Patel has been booked by the police for procuring girls, forcing them into prostitution, living on their earnings and indulging in prostitution within 200m of the place of worship, ie the Holy Family church.
October 16,2008, The Times of India, Goa
German minors case;Twist in tale: Girl tries to save Rohit
Twist in tale: Girl tries to save Rohit
Refuses To Testify, Revolts Against Mother
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Panaji: In a fresh twist to the alleged rape case involving the Goa education minister’s elder son Rohit and a German minor, the girl has refused to give her statement to the police and subject herself to a medical examination.
“We can’t wait too long. If the girl fails to give her statement, we will have a difficult case on our hands,” said superintendent of police (North) Bosco George. “She is under psychological counselling and we are hopeful that she will give her statement,” he added.
The police are still searching for Rohit, who is absconding. “If he thinks he is innocent, Babush should produce his son before the police,” said George. The option of arresting Babush is also open, he added. The police have provided armed security to the mother and daughter.
A police team, along with a child activist, had gone to the minor’s residence on Tuesday night to convince her to give her statement and submit herself to a medical examination. “However, the minor threw a tantrum, locked herself up in a room and refused to meet anyone,” said a police official. On Wednesday, a police team accompanied by a child activist and a child clinical psychologist again went to meet the girl and her mother.
Police sources said the minor’s statement and medical examination is crucial to the case as the mother’s complaint on Tuesday had alleged that state education minister Atanasio ‘Babush’ Monserrate’s son Rohit had sexually assaulted her daughter, outraged her modesty and raped her, offences punishable under section 354 and 376 of IPC.
However, Aires Rodrigues, the woman’s counsel, said the girl’s statement is not important as copies of SMSs sent by Rohit have been produced before the police. “The case will not fall apart. As per the Goa Children’s Act, the onus is on the accused to prove he is not guilty. Let Rohit prove that he has not sexually abused the minor,” he said.
Rodrigues added that the girl will give her statement and even go for a medical examination. At the moment, the mother is going through a trauma and the child is also scared, he said, adding, “The minor is under pressure from Rohit and is protective of him.”
Recollecting about a call the mother received from her minor daughter after she filed a complaint on October 2 at Calangute police station, Rodrigues said, “She called her mother and asked her to withdraw the complaint as she didn’t want Rohit to get into any trouble.”
The mother has also said that the daughter is upset and confused. “She thinks of Rohit as a friend and believes that I am against her friends. But I explained to her that what he did was wrong,” added the mother.
Police officials said they have asked for the call details of both Rohit and the minor girl. The police also handed over the FIR to the children’s court.
German consulate takes up case, writes to Goa
Panaji: Adding to the embarrassment of the Digambar Kamat government, the German consulate in Mumbai has written to the chief secretary regarding the sexual assault on a German minor girl allegedly by the state education minister’s elder son.
The German consulate requested chief secretary J P Singh to “ensure that the criminal investigation is pursued vigorously and that the safety of Ms X (name withheld) and her daughter is not compromised”. “The consulate general and our embassy in New Delhi have been seized of this matter and we are following the case with great concern,” the consul general of the Federal Republic of Germany, Walter Stechel, wrote. TNN
MONSERRATES DEFEND THEIR SON
Why are police trying to cajole the girl to go for a medical examination? If she was raped, she would have gone willingly to hospital.
The mobile to which SMSs were sent is in the mother’s name. Maybe someone was sending them to her
Police are controlled by the home minister. They never acted on allegations against his family
October 16,2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Refuses To Testify, Revolts Against Mother
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Panaji: In a fresh twist to the alleged rape case involving the Goa education minister’s elder son Rohit and a German minor, the girl has refused to give her statement to the police and subject herself to a medical examination.
“We can’t wait too long. If the girl fails to give her statement, we will have a difficult case on our hands,” said superintendent of police (North) Bosco George. “She is under psychological counselling and we are hopeful that she will give her statement,” he added.
The police are still searching for Rohit, who is absconding. “If he thinks he is innocent, Babush should produce his son before the police,” said George. The option of arresting Babush is also open, he added. The police have provided armed security to the mother and daughter.
A police team, along with a child activist, had gone to the minor’s residence on Tuesday night to convince her to give her statement and submit herself to a medical examination. “However, the minor threw a tantrum, locked herself up in a room and refused to meet anyone,” said a police official. On Wednesday, a police team accompanied by a child activist and a child clinical psychologist again went to meet the girl and her mother.
Police sources said the minor’s statement and medical examination is crucial to the case as the mother’s complaint on Tuesday had alleged that state education minister Atanasio ‘Babush’ Monserrate’s son Rohit had sexually assaulted her daughter, outraged her modesty and raped her, offences punishable under section 354 and 376 of IPC.
However, Aires Rodrigues, the woman’s counsel, said the girl’s statement is not important as copies of SMSs sent by Rohit have been produced before the police. “The case will not fall apart. As per the Goa Children’s Act, the onus is on the accused to prove he is not guilty. Let Rohit prove that he has not sexually abused the minor,” he said.
Rodrigues added that the girl will give her statement and even go for a medical examination. At the moment, the mother is going through a trauma and the child is also scared, he said, adding, “The minor is under pressure from Rohit and is protective of him.”
Recollecting about a call the mother received from her minor daughter after she filed a complaint on October 2 at Calangute police station, Rodrigues said, “She called her mother and asked her to withdraw the complaint as she didn’t want Rohit to get into any trouble.”
The mother has also said that the daughter is upset and confused. “She thinks of Rohit as a friend and believes that I am against her friends. But I explained to her that what he did was wrong,” added the mother.
Police officials said they have asked for the call details of both Rohit and the minor girl. The police also handed over the FIR to the children’s court.
German consulate takes up case, writes to Goa
Panaji: Adding to the embarrassment of the Digambar Kamat government, the German consulate in Mumbai has written to the chief secretary regarding the sexual assault on a German minor girl allegedly by the state education minister’s elder son.
The German consulate requested chief secretary J P Singh to “ensure that the criminal investigation is pursued vigorously and that the safety of Ms X (name withheld) and her daughter is not compromised”. “The consulate general and our embassy in New Delhi have been seized of this matter and we are following the case with great concern,” the consul general of the Federal Republic of Germany, Walter Stechel, wrote. TNN
MONSERRATES DEFEND THEIR SON
Why are police trying to cajole the girl to go for a medical examination? If she was raped, she would have gone willingly to hospital.
The mobile to which SMSs were sent is in the mother’s name. Maybe someone was sending them to her
Police are controlled by the home minister. They never acted on allegations against his family
October 16,2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
German minor girl:Threats to girl’s mom
Threats to girl’s mom
Panaji: The German woman who filed a police complaint against Rohit Monserrate was allegedly threatened by a friend of the education minister. The woman alleges that a woman known to her visited her home on Monday and said she was a friend of the minister. She advised the German woman not to go ahead with the case if “I intended to live in Goa”. “I was told that the minister wanted to meet me. She called me again in the afternoon to go to his house but I was too scared and didn’t take her call,” she alleged. TNN I knew there would be trouble, says girl’s mother
Panaji: The German woman who has lodged a complaint against the state education minister’s son said she has received threats. Stating that she is scared, the German woman said, “I am shocked that they can stoop to such a level. When I complained against the minister’s son to the police, I knew there would be trouble in store for me. But I had to do it for the sake of my daughter.”
“My daughter is a bit confused, but fine. Rohit was destroying her life. Forcing her into smoking and drinking, besides abusing her. My daughter is a minor, she was depressed and tried to commit suicide,” added the mother.
The German woman’s counsel Aires Rodrigues, who is in hospital, said, “As legal counsel we will make sure that the mother and the girl are safe.”
The German woman is in India on an X-visa, which permits the mother and daughter to stay together, the daughter is on a student visa valid upto May 2010.
October 15,2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Panaji: The German woman who filed a police complaint against Rohit Monserrate was allegedly threatened by a friend of the education minister. The woman alleges that a woman known to her visited her home on Monday and said she was a friend of the minister. She advised the German woman not to go ahead with the case if “I intended to live in Goa”. “I was told that the minister wanted to meet me. She called me again in the afternoon to go to his house but I was too scared and didn’t take her call,” she alleged. TNN I knew there would be trouble, says girl’s mother
Panaji: The German woman who has lodged a complaint against the state education minister’s son said she has received threats. Stating that she is scared, the German woman said, “I am shocked that they can stoop to such a level. When I complained against the minister’s son to the police, I knew there would be trouble in store for me. But I had to do it for the sake of my daughter.”
“My daughter is a bit confused, but fine. Rohit was destroying her life. Forcing her into smoking and drinking, besides abusing her. My daughter is a minor, she was depressed and tried to commit suicide,” added the mother.
The German woman’s counsel Aires Rodrigues, who is in hospital, said, “As legal counsel we will make sure that the mother and the girl are safe.”
The German woman is in India on an X-visa, which permits the mother and daughter to stay together, the daughter is on a student visa valid upto May 2010.
October 15,2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
German minor girl:They wanted to chop my neck: Aires Rodrigues
They wanted to chop my neck: Aires Rodrigues
Panaji: Advocate and activist Aires Rodrigues on Tuesday alleged that he was attacked the previous night because he had gathered evidence against eduction minister Atanasio Monserrate and his son. Rodrigues said, “I was attacked a night before we were supposed to produce the evidence before the police.”
Masked assailants had attacked Rodrigues and historian Prajal Sakhardande in a Panaji restaurant late on Monday. Recollecting the attack, a visibly shaken Rodrigues said, “As threats and persuasion didn’t work, it appears that the minister in frustration sent his goons to attack and eliminate me. When I, with friends, was having chicken xacuti at the restaurant, five or six masked men barged in and attacked me with knives and swords. They wanted to chop my neck, but I ducked and they cut my fingers. With my fingers hanging I was admitted to the hospital.”
Rodrigues who had been administered anaesthesia thrice was a bit dizzy, but put up a brave front. “Nothing will cow us down. Even if we have to lay our life for the cause of a brave mother, it will be a small sacrifice,” said Rodrigues.Rodrigues admitted that he had received phone calls from people in highly placed positions, as well as Babush’s friends asking him not to pursue the matter.
“They also tried to persuade the mother to drop the case. But she wants to pursue it. She wants to ensure that what has happened to her daughter, doesn’t happen to anybody else’s daughter,” added Rodrigues.
The police have posted security outside Rodrigues’ house in Ribandar. A Maruti car, in which the alleged accused travelled has been attached. Police sources said that the car was parked about 30 mts from the place where the attack took place.
3 held for assasult
The police have arrested three persons for Monday night’s attack on activist and advocate Aires Rodrigues and historian Prajal Sakhardande. Anthony Barreto and Normon John alias Bocho from Taleigao, and Sandeep Vaigankar from Tonca were arrested on Tuesday and remanded to seven days police custody. The three are also accused of attacking the Panaji police station in February. Police are not ruling out Monserrate’s involvement in the attack. “We are investigating the matter,” said the SP (north). TNN
October 15,2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Panaji: Advocate and activist Aires Rodrigues on Tuesday alleged that he was attacked the previous night because he had gathered evidence against eduction minister Atanasio Monserrate and his son. Rodrigues said, “I was attacked a night before we were supposed to produce the evidence before the police.”
Masked assailants had attacked Rodrigues and historian Prajal Sakhardande in a Panaji restaurant late on Monday. Recollecting the attack, a visibly shaken Rodrigues said, “As threats and persuasion didn’t work, it appears that the minister in frustration sent his goons to attack and eliminate me. When I, with friends, was having chicken xacuti at the restaurant, five or six masked men barged in and attacked me with knives and swords. They wanted to chop my neck, but I ducked and they cut my fingers. With my fingers hanging I was admitted to the hospital.”
Rodrigues who had been administered anaesthesia thrice was a bit dizzy, but put up a brave front. “Nothing will cow us down. Even if we have to lay our life for the cause of a brave mother, it will be a small sacrifice,” said Rodrigues.Rodrigues admitted that he had received phone calls from people in highly placed positions, as well as Babush’s friends asking him not to pursue the matter.
“They also tried to persuade the mother to drop the case. But she wants to pursue it. She wants to ensure that what has happened to her daughter, doesn’t happen to anybody else’s daughter,” added Rodrigues.
The police have posted security outside Rodrigues’ house in Ribandar. A Maruti car, in which the alleged accused travelled has been attached. Police sources said that the car was parked about 30 mts from the place where the attack took place.
3 held for assasult
The police have arrested three persons for Monday night’s attack on activist and advocate Aires Rodrigues and historian Prajal Sakhardande. Anthony Barreto and Normon John alias Bocho from Taleigao, and Sandeep Vaigankar from Tonca were arrested on Tuesday and remanded to seven days police custody. The three are also accused of attacking the Panaji police station in February. Police are not ruling out Monserrate’s involvement in the attack. “We are investigating the matter,” said the SP (north). TNN
October 15,2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
German Minor girl;Goa
Cops unable to arrest Goa education minister’s son
Panaji: The police have been unable to arrest education minister Atanasio “Babush” Monserrate’s son Rohit in connection with the rape of a German minor as he is not at home. “Notice under section 160 of CrPC has been served asking him to remain present on receipt of the summons,” said SP (North) Bosco George.
Sources said that when the police reached the minister’s residence, Monserrate said his son was out of station. They however searched the house and, as Rohit couldn’t be traced, served the notice to Monserrate. “Now it’s the father’s responsibility to give the notice to his son and produce him before the police. Even Babush can be arrested under the Goa Children’s Act for abetment to the crime,” said a senior police official.
Rohit, 21, has also been charged with sending obscene SMSs to the girl and outraging her modesty under the Goa Children’s Act and the Indian Penal Code. If found guilty, he could face up to three years in prison. The case was registered after the girl’s mother filed a complaint against Monserrate and his son on Tuesday.
Aires Rodrigues said, “Once I confirmed that the mobile used by Rohit was actually in the minister’s name, I decided to meet the SP (North) with the mother on Tuesday morning to file a fresh complaint and provide all details and documents to help in the investigation.”
However, he was attacked before that. Rodrigues filed the complaint on Tuesday from his hospital bed. “After receiving the complaint, he promised immediate action,” added Rodrigues.
The German woman had first lodged a missing complaint with the Calangute police on October 2, stating, “I know my daughter is being sexually used by a man much older than her. This person is contacting her on her mobile phone and maybe via the internet.” The 14-year-old girl had dropped out of school last year and is now studying in an open school.
The woman has been staying in Goa with her daughter for the last 14 years. Her husband is in Germany.
In the fresh complaint to the SP (North), the mother alleged that though two weeks had passed since the first complaint was filed, the Calangute police had not registered an offence against Rohit.
“I am very concerned that police have not taken any action,” she said.
The German woman also alleged that Rohit’s mother had gone to her house on October 3 to coax her to withdraw the complaint. “It is obvious on perusal of the messages that Rohit was sexually abusing my daughter,” the complaint said. She further alleged that Rohit had committed offences under section 8 (2) of the Goa Children’s Act.
Once it was established that the mobile phone was registered in the education minister’s name, the German woman demanded that the police register a case against Monserrate for abetting the crime as the mobile was used by Rohit to send the SMSs to the minor girl.
Calangute police, accompanied by child activists went to the minor’s house to talk to her and take her for a medical test. The girl refused to submit herself to a test or even talk to the police.
October 15,2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Panaji: The police have been unable to arrest education minister Atanasio “Babush” Monserrate’s son Rohit in connection with the rape of a German minor as he is not at home. “Notice under section 160 of CrPC has been served asking him to remain present on receipt of the summons,” said SP (North) Bosco George.
Sources said that when the police reached the minister’s residence, Monserrate said his son was out of station. They however searched the house and, as Rohit couldn’t be traced, served the notice to Monserrate. “Now it’s the father’s responsibility to give the notice to his son and produce him before the police. Even Babush can be arrested under the Goa Children’s Act for abetment to the crime,” said a senior police official.
Rohit, 21, has also been charged with sending obscene SMSs to the girl and outraging her modesty under the Goa Children’s Act and the Indian Penal Code. If found guilty, he could face up to three years in prison. The case was registered after the girl’s mother filed a complaint against Monserrate and his son on Tuesday.
Aires Rodrigues said, “Once I confirmed that the mobile used by Rohit was actually in the minister’s name, I decided to meet the SP (North) with the mother on Tuesday morning to file a fresh complaint and provide all details and documents to help in the investigation.”
However, he was attacked before that. Rodrigues filed the complaint on Tuesday from his hospital bed. “After receiving the complaint, he promised immediate action,” added Rodrigues.
The German woman had first lodged a missing complaint with the Calangute police on October 2, stating, “I know my daughter is being sexually used by a man much older than her. This person is contacting her on her mobile phone and maybe via the internet.” The 14-year-old girl had dropped out of school last year and is now studying in an open school.
The woman has been staying in Goa with her daughter for the last 14 years. Her husband is in Germany.
In the fresh complaint to the SP (North), the mother alleged that though two weeks had passed since the first complaint was filed, the Calangute police had not registered an offence against Rohit.
“I am very concerned that police have not taken any action,” she said.
The German woman also alleged that Rohit’s mother had gone to her house on October 3 to coax her to withdraw the complaint. “It is obvious on perusal of the messages that Rohit was sexually abusing my daughter,” the complaint said. She further alleged that Rohit had committed offences under section 8 (2) of the Goa Children’s Act.
Once it was established that the mobile phone was registered in the education minister’s name, the German woman demanded that the police register a case against Monserrate for abetting the crime as the mobile was used by Rohit to send the SMSs to the minor girl.
Calangute police, accompanied by child activists went to the minor’s house to talk to her and take her for a medical test. The girl refused to submit herself to a test or even talk to the police.
October 15,2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
German minor’s rape
Police on Babush son’s trail for minor’s rape, raid houses
Monserrate Sr Faces Charges Of Abetment
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Panaji: Police on Tuesday raided two houses of state education minister Atanasio “Babush” Monserrate looking for his elder son Rohit, who has been booked for raping a minor German girl. The hunt has so far proved futile.
“We find there is a prima facie case and have registered a case of rape, outraging the modesty and molestation of a minor against Rohit. An offence has also been registered against his father for allegedly abetting the crime by handing over his mobile to send messages,” said SP (north)
Bosco George.
The police action appears to have been triggered by an attack on advocate and social activist Aires Rodrigues, who is counsel for the German girl’s mother, at about 10.30 pm on Monday. Two fingers on Rodrigues’s right hand were chopped off by some masked men who barged into a hotel where the advocate was sitting with his friends. His friend Prajal Sakhardande, a historian, was also injured in the attack.
The minister—who himself had led a mob in attacking the Panaji police station in February this year, injuring a number of cops—said he was dismayed that an attempt was being made to create an impression that “this assault is to silence Mr Aires from helping the German lady who is alleged to have certain allegations against my son”.
HOW STORY UNFOLDED
Oct 2: German woman lodges police complaint against Rohit for “sexually using” her minor daughter. Police lodge a missing complaint
Oct 3: The girl returns home, her mother informs police, who record the girl has been “traced”. The mother alleges Rohit’s mother Jennifer had called on her and asked her to withdraw complaint
Oct 10: Advocate Aires Rodrigues reveals details of the incident. SP (north) Bosco George asks DySP Gundu Naik to investigate the case
Oct 11: Police seek details from the mother. She says she can do so only after consulting her lawyer. Promises to meet the police at 11.30 am the following day
Oct 12: She doesn’t turn up, police send her a reminder
Oct 13: The police and a member of an NGO visit her to record her statement. She fixes appointment to lodge a complaint before SP (north) at 11.30 am on October 14. Rodrigues says cellular operator has confirmed the number from which obscene SMSs were sent was registered in Atanasio Monserrate name. Later in the night, Rodrigues and historian Prajal Sakhardande are assaulted by masked assailants in a Panaji restaurant
Oct 14: Several goons rounded up, three later arrested. Police transfer DySP Sammy Tavares as SDPO (Panaji). SP (north), DySP Naik and DySP Tavares visit Rodrigues in hospital, record the German’s complaint. SP promises immediate action. Monserrate’s houses in Miramar and Taleigao raided to arrest Rohit
October 15,2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Monserrate Sr Faces Charges Of Abetment
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Panaji: Police on Tuesday raided two houses of state education minister Atanasio “Babush” Monserrate looking for his elder son Rohit, who has been booked for raping a minor German girl. The hunt has so far proved futile.
“We find there is a prima facie case and have registered a case of rape, outraging the modesty and molestation of a minor against Rohit. An offence has also been registered against his father for allegedly abetting the crime by handing over his mobile to send messages,” said SP (north)
Bosco George.
The police action appears to have been triggered by an attack on advocate and social activist Aires Rodrigues, who is counsel for the German girl’s mother, at about 10.30 pm on Monday. Two fingers on Rodrigues’s right hand were chopped off by some masked men who barged into a hotel where the advocate was sitting with his friends. His friend Prajal Sakhardande, a historian, was also injured in the attack.
The minister—who himself had led a mob in attacking the Panaji police station in February this year, injuring a number of cops—said he was dismayed that an attempt was being made to create an impression that “this assault is to silence Mr Aires from helping the German lady who is alleged to have certain allegations against my son”.
HOW STORY UNFOLDED
Oct 2: German woman lodges police complaint against Rohit for “sexually using” her minor daughter. Police lodge a missing complaint
Oct 3: The girl returns home, her mother informs police, who record the girl has been “traced”. The mother alleges Rohit’s mother Jennifer had called on her and asked her to withdraw complaint
Oct 10: Advocate Aires Rodrigues reveals details of the incident. SP (north) Bosco George asks DySP Gundu Naik to investigate the case
Oct 11: Police seek details from the mother. She says she can do so only after consulting her lawyer. Promises to meet the police at 11.30 am the following day
Oct 12: She doesn’t turn up, police send her a reminder
Oct 13: The police and a member of an NGO visit her to record her statement. She fixes appointment to lodge a complaint before SP (north) at 11.30 am on October 14. Rodrigues says cellular operator has confirmed the number from which obscene SMSs were sent was registered in Atanasio Monserrate name. Later in the night, Rodrigues and historian Prajal Sakhardande are assaulted by masked assailants in a Panaji restaurant
Oct 14: Several goons rounded up, three later arrested. Police transfer DySP Sammy Tavares as SDPO (Panaji). SP (north), DySP Naik and DySP Tavares visit Rodrigues in hospital, record the German’s complaint. SP promises immediate action. Monserrate’s houses in Miramar and Taleigao raided to arrest Rohit
October 15,2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Aires attacked in Panaji hotel
Aires attacked in Panaji hotel
Masked Men Chop Off Fingers
TIMES NEWS NETWORK Panaji: Advocate Aires Rodrigues and historian Prajal Sakhardande were brutally assaulted by masked assailants in a Panaji hotel late Monday night.
According to advocate Jatin Naik, who was with the duo in Hotel Ashok, 5-6 assailants armed with a sword and knives, entered the premises around 10.30
and and asked for Rodrigues. Once he identified himself, the lawyer was attacked. Rodrigues, who lost two fingers on his right hand in the attack, and Sakhardande, with grievous head injuries, were admitted to Campal Clinic. Rodrigues is counsel for a German woman who has alleged that a minister’s son has been sending obscene SMSs to her minor daughter.
Aires didn’t say he was being threatened: SP George
Panaji: Advocate Aires Rodrigues and historian Prajal Sakhardande were attacked by masked miscreants on Monday night. Noted physician and activist Oscar Rebello, who was at Campal Clinic when Rodrigues and Sakhardande were rushed in, said, “Rodrigues was brought in soaked in blood. He had stab wounds. He has been taken to the operation theatre. Two fingers of his right hand have been chopped off and he has injuries on the head.”
Advocate Jatin Naik, who was with Rodrigues but had just gone out for a while, said, “When I was returning to my table I saw six or seven masked men telling each other in Konkani that ‘this is Aires who is creating trouble’ and they started attacking him. In the process Sakhardande, who was sitting next to Rodrigues was also severely injured.”
Eyewitnesses said Rodrigues, once attacked, ran into the hotel’s toilet and remained there till the assailants left. After Rodrigues ran into the toilet, the assailants started smashing bottles. The owner of the hotel had to plead with them to stop damaging his property.
SP (North) Bosco George, who visited the scene of the crime in the night, said investigations were on. He said Rodrigues had spoken to him 20 minutes before the assault but had not said he was being threatened.
Rodrigues’s friends who were with him at the hospital believe he had been attacked for supporting the German woman. Rodrigues was to meet George along with the woman and her child on Tuesday with all details against the minister’s son.
“If the police fail to act and arrest the accused within 24 hours, we would be forced to approach the human rights commission,” said Naik.
October 14,2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Masked Men Chop Off Fingers
TIMES NEWS NETWORK Panaji: Advocate Aires Rodrigues and historian Prajal Sakhardande were brutally assaulted by masked assailants in a Panaji hotel late Monday night.
According to advocate Jatin Naik, who was with the duo in Hotel Ashok, 5-6 assailants armed with a sword and knives, entered the premises around 10.30
and and asked for Rodrigues. Once he identified himself, the lawyer was attacked. Rodrigues, who lost two fingers on his right hand in the attack, and Sakhardande, with grievous head injuries, were admitted to Campal Clinic. Rodrigues is counsel for a German woman who has alleged that a minister’s son has been sending obscene SMSs to her minor daughter.
Aires didn’t say he was being threatened: SP George
Panaji: Advocate Aires Rodrigues and historian Prajal Sakhardande were attacked by masked miscreants on Monday night. Noted physician and activist Oscar Rebello, who was at Campal Clinic when Rodrigues and Sakhardande were rushed in, said, “Rodrigues was brought in soaked in blood. He had stab wounds. He has been taken to the operation theatre. Two fingers of his right hand have been chopped off and he has injuries on the head.”
Advocate Jatin Naik, who was with Rodrigues but had just gone out for a while, said, “When I was returning to my table I saw six or seven masked men telling each other in Konkani that ‘this is Aires who is creating trouble’ and they started attacking him. In the process Sakhardande, who was sitting next to Rodrigues was also severely injured.”
Eyewitnesses said Rodrigues, once attacked, ran into the hotel’s toilet and remained there till the assailants left. After Rodrigues ran into the toilet, the assailants started smashing bottles. The owner of the hotel had to plead with them to stop damaging his property.
SP (North) Bosco George, who visited the scene of the crime in the night, said investigations were on. He said Rodrigues had spoken to him 20 minutes before the assault but had not said he was being threatened.
Rodrigues’s friends who were with him at the hospital believe he had been attacked for supporting the German woman. Rodrigues was to meet George along with the woman and her child on Tuesday with all details against the minister’s son.
“If the police fail to act and arrest the accused within 24 hours, we would be forced to approach the human rights commission,” said Naik.
October 14,2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
German mom refuses to speak to cops
German mom refuses to speak to cops
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Panaji: The German woman who had complained to the police against a minister’s son for “sexually using” her minor daughter refused to talk to the men in uniform who had visited her house in Saligao with an NGO member to record statements from the minor girl and the mother.
Police sources said that DySP Gundu Naik along with a lady police officer and an NGO member went to the complainant’s house on Monday morning. After making the team wait for some time, the mother said that she and her daughter would only speak after consulting their lawyer.
“We tried to persuade the mother to come forward and make available evidence to build a prima facie case. But till now, it has been futile,” said SP (north) Bosco George.
The German woman, who calls herself a researcher on Hindu mythology and a translator, had lodged a complaint with the Calangute police on October 2 stating that that her daughter was being sexually used by a man much older than the girl and that upon being contacted, the child tends to behave abnormally.
“She is often trying to run away from home,” the mother had added.
Meanwhile, Utt Goenkara spokesperson and counsel for the mother, Aires Rodrigues said that he along with the mother would meet the SP (North) on Tuesday in order to press charges against the minister’s son for allegedly sexually harassing and using the 14 -year-old girl.
‘Phone belongs to minister’
Panaji: Counsel for the German mother, Aires Rodrigues said that the cell phone which was used to send lewd messages to the minor girl belonged not to the minister’s son, but to the minister himself. “We have confirmed that the mobile phone being used by the minister’s son to send obscene SMSes to the girl is actually registered in the name of his father,” he said.
“Charges will now be pressed against the minister, who will also be held responsible as it was his phone which was being used to mentally and sexually torture the minor girl,” added Rodrigues. TNN
October 14,2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Panaji: The German woman who had complained to the police against a minister’s son for “sexually using” her minor daughter refused to talk to the men in uniform who had visited her house in Saligao with an NGO member to record statements from the minor girl and the mother.
Police sources said that DySP Gundu Naik along with a lady police officer and an NGO member went to the complainant’s house on Monday morning. After making the team wait for some time, the mother said that she and her daughter would only speak after consulting their lawyer.
“We tried to persuade the mother to come forward and make available evidence to build a prima facie case. But till now, it has been futile,” said SP (north) Bosco George.
The German woman, who calls herself a researcher on Hindu mythology and a translator, had lodged a complaint with the Calangute police on October 2 stating that that her daughter was being sexually used by a man much older than the girl and that upon being contacted, the child tends to behave abnormally.
“She is often trying to run away from home,” the mother had added.
Meanwhile, Utt Goenkara spokesperson and counsel for the mother, Aires Rodrigues said that he along with the mother would meet the SP (North) on Tuesday in order to press charges against the minister’s son for allegedly sexually harassing and using the 14 -year-old girl.
‘Phone belongs to minister’
Panaji: Counsel for the German mother, Aires Rodrigues said that the cell phone which was used to send lewd messages to the minor girl belonged not to the minister’s son, but to the minister himself. “We have confirmed that the mobile phone being used by the minister’s son to send obscene SMSes to the girl is actually registered in the name of his father,” he said.
“Charges will now be pressed against the minister, who will also be held responsible as it was his phone which was being used to mentally and sexually torture the minor girl,” added Rodrigues. TNN
October 14,2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Monday, October 13, 2008
German girl’s mum did not show up: SP
German girl’s mum did not show up: SP
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Panaji: Ten days after a German woman complained to the police against a minister’s son for “sexually using” her minor daughter, she has now alleged that “she felt that the police wanted her to withdraw the complaint.”
“The police have said that it’s up to me to decide what I want to do with the complaint. Though they didn’t tell me directly to withdraw the complaint, from their attitude I felt that they wanted me to do so,” the mother said. She has been staying in Goa for the last 14 years with her daughter, while her husband is in Germany.
SP (North) Bosco George denied any delay and said that investigations are in process. “For us to act, prima facie a congnizable offence has to be made out. Till now the complainant has not furnished the mobile where the messages have been stored, nor provided a printout of the messages.”
He added, “The mother assured us in writing that she would come to meet us for inquiry at 11.30 am on Sunday. We waited for her to come and furnish details as she had told us that she would come after taking legal advise. Now we have sent her another intimation and are waiting for her reply.”
The German woman, who calls herself a researcher on Hindu mythology and a translator, had lodged a missing complaint with the Calangute police on October 2, stating, “I know my daughter is being sexually used by a man much elder than her. This person is contacting her on her mobile phone and maybe via the internet.” The 14-year-old girl had dropped out of a Panaji school last year and is now studying in an open school.
Explaining what attracted her minor daughter to the minister’s son, the German woman said, “She was attracted to the German car he possesses. Moreover, they had both studied in the same school. I did everything possible to protect my daughter. When it became difficult and I realized that what was happening was against the law, I lodged a police complaint.”
“We can’t allow young kids to be used by elders (the minister’s son is 21) whom they trust, love and call friends. My daughter is upset,” the mother said. Admitting that she knew it was going to be difficult fighting against a minister’s son, she said, “I had to lodge a complaint to protect my daughter.”
The mother said that she had first read the SMSs when her minor daughter was admitted to a hospital last month. “I went through the inbox and was shocked to see the messages she was receiving from the minister’s son. I looked at my daughter and wondered what would become of our little girl, who has had such a horrid experience at such a young age. Her mental state is finished and she has attempted to commit suicide more than once. It has become intolerable now,” the mother said.
She admitted that she had gifted her daughter a mobile and the SIM card was in her name. “I had gifted her the mobile so that I could be in touch with her. I permitted her to use the mobile to call her friends.”
The German woman’s counsel Aires Rodrigues said, “The minister shouldn’t interfere with the investigation and we will make sure that he doesn’t influence or tamper with evidence in this case.”
October 13, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Panaji: Ten days after a German woman complained to the police against a minister’s son for “sexually using” her minor daughter, she has now alleged that “she felt that the police wanted her to withdraw the complaint.”
“The police have said that it’s up to me to decide what I want to do with the complaint. Though they didn’t tell me directly to withdraw the complaint, from their attitude I felt that they wanted me to do so,” the mother said. She has been staying in Goa for the last 14 years with her daughter, while her husband is in Germany.
SP (North) Bosco George denied any delay and said that investigations are in process. “For us to act, prima facie a congnizable offence has to be made out. Till now the complainant has not furnished the mobile where the messages have been stored, nor provided a printout of the messages.”
He added, “The mother assured us in writing that she would come to meet us for inquiry at 11.30 am on Sunday. We waited for her to come and furnish details as she had told us that she would come after taking legal advise. Now we have sent her another intimation and are waiting for her reply.”
The German woman, who calls herself a researcher on Hindu mythology and a translator, had lodged a missing complaint with the Calangute police on October 2, stating, “I know my daughter is being sexually used by a man much elder than her. This person is contacting her on her mobile phone and maybe via the internet.” The 14-year-old girl had dropped out of a Panaji school last year and is now studying in an open school.
Explaining what attracted her minor daughter to the minister’s son, the German woman said, “She was attracted to the German car he possesses. Moreover, they had both studied in the same school. I did everything possible to protect my daughter. When it became difficult and I realized that what was happening was against the law, I lodged a police complaint.”
“We can’t allow young kids to be used by elders (the minister’s son is 21) whom they trust, love and call friends. My daughter is upset,” the mother said. Admitting that she knew it was going to be difficult fighting against a minister’s son, she said, “I had to lodge a complaint to protect my daughter.”
The mother said that she had first read the SMSs when her minor daughter was admitted to a hospital last month. “I went through the inbox and was shocked to see the messages she was receiving from the minister’s son. I looked at my daughter and wondered what would become of our little girl, who has had such a horrid experience at such a young age. Her mental state is finished and she has attempted to commit suicide more than once. It has become intolerable now,” the mother said.
She admitted that she had gifted her daughter a mobile and the SIM card was in her name. “I had gifted her the mobile so that I could be in touch with her. I permitted her to use the mobile to call her friends.”
The German woman’s counsel Aires Rodrigues said, “The minister shouldn’t interfere with the investigation and we will make sure that he doesn’t influence or tamper with evidence in this case.”
October 13, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Goa on SIMI, Qaida hitlists
Goa on SIMI, Qaida hitlists
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: Al Qaida and SIMI terrorists have been planning to target American, British and Israeli tourists in Goa, intelligence and police sources say.
While arrested SIMI leader Safdar Nagori—who is alleged to be behind the Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Delhi blasts—revealed during narco-analysis their plan to strike Goa, a Qaida module busted in the US provided provided information about the tourist hotspot being in terror crosshairs.
Sources added both these reports have been submitted to the Goa police. When contacted, DGP B S Brar said, “As of today, Goa is not a target. However, interrogation reports of various terrorists arrested by the police have revealed that they had Goa as a target and we are not taking any chances. All these groups were based outside Goa.”
During narco-analysis, Nagori said, “Nasir (a SIMI activist arrested by the Karnataka police in January 2008) had spoken to Adnan (arrested by the Karnataka police from Indore in March) and others about his target and he had targeted the Americans, Britishers and Israelis as his present target at Goa…”
Nagori was arrested by the Madhya Pradesh police from Indore and the narcoanalysis was done at Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Bangalore, in April this year. Three others were also subjected to the test. The report was submitted in June.
Nagori revealed that they had organized a training camp at Karnataka’s Castle Rock—80 km from Goa’s capital Panaji—to ready for the operation. “Nasir had attended the Castle Rock training camp and had also visited Hubli,” he said. ‘No immediate threat to state’
Panaji: Intelligence sources revealed that the al Qaida had plans to attack Goa in 2007 itself. A laptop recovered from an al Qaida module busted in the US contained information about a proposed strike around “Baja (Baga) beach”, sources said. This information was passed on to Indian authorities by US agencies.
Although there is no immediate threat it does not reduce the vulnerability, top police officials said. In fact, IGP Kishan Kumar has been continuously saying that Goa needs to comes out of the “nothing will ever happen here” mindset.
The police have already beefed up its intelligence gathering and are insisting on CCTVs and proper lighting at popular beaches. The police have also instructed all night clubs to down shutters by 12 midnight. Two companies of Central industrial security force have been stationed at tourist spots and two more will arrive during the IFFI in November.
October 12, 2008,The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: Al Qaida and SIMI terrorists have been planning to target American, British and Israeli tourists in Goa, intelligence and police sources say.
While arrested SIMI leader Safdar Nagori—who is alleged to be behind the Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Delhi blasts—revealed during narco-analysis their plan to strike Goa, a Qaida module busted in the US provided provided information about the tourist hotspot being in terror crosshairs.
Sources added both these reports have been submitted to the Goa police. When contacted, DGP B S Brar said, “As of today, Goa is not a target. However, interrogation reports of various terrorists arrested by the police have revealed that they had Goa as a target and we are not taking any chances. All these groups were based outside Goa.”
During narco-analysis, Nagori said, “Nasir (a SIMI activist arrested by the Karnataka police in January 2008) had spoken to Adnan (arrested by the Karnataka police from Indore in March) and others about his target and he had targeted the Americans, Britishers and Israelis as his present target at Goa…”
Nagori was arrested by the Madhya Pradesh police from Indore and the narcoanalysis was done at Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Bangalore, in April this year. Three others were also subjected to the test. The report was submitted in June.
Nagori revealed that they had organized a training camp at Karnataka’s Castle Rock—80 km from Goa’s capital Panaji—to ready for the operation. “Nasir had attended the Castle Rock training camp and had also visited Hubli,” he said. ‘No immediate threat to state’
Panaji: Intelligence sources revealed that the al Qaida had plans to attack Goa in 2007 itself. A laptop recovered from an al Qaida module busted in the US contained information about a proposed strike around “Baja (Baga) beach”, sources said. This information was passed on to Indian authorities by US agencies.
Although there is no immediate threat it does not reduce the vulnerability, top police officials said. In fact, IGP Kishan Kumar has been continuously saying that Goa needs to comes out of the “nothing will ever happen here” mindset.
The police have already beefed up its intelligence gathering and are insisting on CCTVs and proper lighting at popular beaches. The police have also instructed all night clubs to down shutters by 12 midnight. Two companies of Central industrial security force have been stationed at tourist spots and two more will arrive during the IFFI in November.
October 12, 2008,The Times of India, Goa edition
CALANGUTE MURDER;Kelly’s knife found, claim hotel staff
CALANGUTE MURDER
Kelly’s knife found, claim hotel staff
Preetu Nair | TNN
Calangute: The knife which was allegedly carried by Australian national John Kelly to the Club City restaurant in Calangute has been found. However, the Calangute police said that after examining the knife, the fingerprint expert said that there are no fingerprint marks on it. This, the police explained, could be either due to exposure to sunlight and dew.
The restaurant’s bartender, Ervell, said that around 8.45 pm on Saturday while they were shifting flower pots just outside the restaurant they came across the knife.
“I called a staffer who was working on the day of the incident to verify whether it was the same knife which the foreigner was carrying and had allegedly put to waiter Jaikrishna’s throat. One of the witnesses, Matthew Rehman, who works as a cook in the restaurant said that this was the knife being carried by the foreigner,” Ervell told TOI.
“On that day, Kelly had came into the restaurant’s kitchen at around 7.30 am drunk and threatened me with the knife. Then he suddenly apologized and left to sit below a mango tree adjacent to the restaurant where he was drinking.
“He returned later at around 8 am and then got into an altercation with Jaikrishna and threatened him with the knife which forced him to react in self-defence,” Rehman said.
Meanwhile, the police, which had conducted a panchanama at the site soon after the case was registered
as a murder, said that they had fully checked the premises and had not located the knife.
They also said that they were surprised with the sudden appearance of the knife, which has been found just half a metre from the spot Kelly had fallen after he was pushed by the waiter and security guard.
October 12, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Kelly’s knife found, claim hotel staff
Preetu Nair | TNN
Calangute: The knife which was allegedly carried by Australian national John Kelly to the Club City restaurant in Calangute has been found. However, the Calangute police said that after examining the knife, the fingerprint expert said that there are no fingerprint marks on it. This, the police explained, could be either due to exposure to sunlight and dew.
The restaurant’s bartender, Ervell, said that around 8.45 pm on Saturday while they were shifting flower pots just outside the restaurant they came across the knife.
“I called a staffer who was working on the day of the incident to verify whether it was the same knife which the foreigner was carrying and had allegedly put to waiter Jaikrishna’s throat. One of the witnesses, Matthew Rehman, who works as a cook in the restaurant said that this was the knife being carried by the foreigner,” Ervell told TOI.
“On that day, Kelly had came into the restaurant’s kitchen at around 7.30 am drunk and threatened me with the knife. Then he suddenly apologized and left to sit below a mango tree adjacent to the restaurant where he was drinking.
“He returned later at around 8 am and then got into an altercation with Jaikrishna and threatened him with the knife which forced him to react in self-defence,” Rehman said.
Meanwhile, the police, which had conducted a panchanama at the site soon after the case was registered
as a murder, said that they had fully checked the premises and had not located the knife.
They also said that they were surprised with the sudden appearance of the knife, which has been found just half a metre from the spot Kelly had fallen after he was pushed by the waiter and security guard.
October 12, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Bangalore techie Meghna Subedar found alive in Pune
Bangalore techie Meghna found alive in Pune
Andrew Pereira, Preetu Nair & Yogesh Naik | TNN
Panaji/Mumbai: Meghna Subhedar, the 28-year-old Bangalore-based software engineer who went missing in April from CST railway station and had been thought to be dead till recently was found alive six months later on Friday. The CST railway police received a call from her father on Friday saying that Meghna had turned up at her grandfather’s house at Paud Road, Pune.
Investigating officer Anil Mane of the CST police told TOI, “We got a call from her grandparents that she was in Pune. We reached Pune and found that the girl was at their residence. She looked mentally disturbed and was talking irrelevant things. She did not answer our questions too.”
ACP Bapu Thombre said that Meghna told the police that this morning a crowd of people threw stones at her, which led to her getting a head injury. Police said a doctor who examined her suspected that the blow may have led to her remembering that she had relatives in Pune. Sources said that at around 5.30 pm on Friday, Meghna called up her uncle in Kothrud, Pune from a PCO. She said that she was scared and was being chased by goons. Her uncle picked her up from the PCO. LOST AND FOUND
‘Meghna said she was scared, chased by goons’
Panaji/Mumbai: The Bangalore-based software engineer Meghna Subhedar, 28, who went missing in April from CST railway station and was thought to be dead was found alive on Friday.
Meghna called up her uncle in Kothrud,Pune from a PCO on Friday and said she was scared and being chased by goons.
She was reportedly in a bad state and had injuries all over her body. Her uncle who picked her up from the PCO said that she had just Rs 3 in her pocket. The CST railway police left for Pune after being informed.
Investigating officer Anil Mane of the CST police said that Meghna told the CST police that she had been been several cities which she visited by train. “She has told us that she went to Kolhapur and some south Indian towns. She came to Pune from Hyderabad in a train. She used to beg and eat,'' Mane said.
Since Meghna is mentally stressed, her relatives told the CST police to make inquiries later. “We will soon call her for an interrogation and ask her a few questions,” said Mane. The police feel that she requires immediate counselling and told her relatives to summon a psychiatrist. Mane said that Meghna looks much weaker and stressed. Her parents are reportedly on their way to Pune from their home in Chhatisgarh.
Meghna’s mother Dr Anjali Subedar said, “Meghna called us around 3.30 pm on Friday and said that she was in Pune. She said that she was not feeling well and had suffered a lot. She sounded worried and tense.”
“As she sounded upset we didn’t ask her any questions and advised her to go to Pune to a relative’s place. Now she is with our relative and my husband has left for Pune,” said the mother.
Though the mother suspects that her daughter may have been tortured, she said that she doesn’t have the details and will only be able to tell where her daughter was for seven months and why she didn’t call when they meet.
“At the moment our only concern is that our daughter is fine. She sounded traumatised and we just want to ensure that she is okay.
“Finally our prayers have paid off,” said Dr Subedar, who had been praying and even fasting for her daughter’s wellbeing and safety.
Meghna was employed with an IT firm at Bangalore and went missing from Mumbai while on her way to her hometown Korba in Chhattisgarh. She had come from Bangalore to Mumbai at 4.50 am on April 10. She last called her father on April 10 saying she was at CST, Mumbai and would board the Geetanjali Express. However, when Meghna failed to reach home the next day, her mother, a gynaecologist, made enquiries with relatives and friends. On April 14, she asked her husband, Dr Mohan Subhedar, to lodge a missing person’s complaint with the CST police.
During a police probe it was disclosed that Meghna had two credit cards of ICICI Bank and SBI Bank. She had withdrawn Rs 5,000 from an ICICI ATM in Andheri. The credit card was used the next day to withdraw money from an ATM in Goa.
Meghna’s parents initially suspected that she had been kidnapped in Mumbai and the abductors were using her credit card. So they went to Goa, but were surprised to see CCTV clippings from ATMs showing that Meghna herself had withdrawn money in Goa. From the ATM video footage, her parents said Meghna seemed extremely frightened. Her parents thought she had been either blackmailed or kidnapped. However, investigations drew a blank.
In July, Goa police found a decomposed body on the Candolim beach, North Goa. While her parents initially believed it to be that of their daughter, DNA tests proved otherwise.
Meghna had divorced her husband in 2004. She had reportedly quit her job and was on her way back home when she went missing.
October 11, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Andrew Pereira, Preetu Nair & Yogesh Naik | TNN
Panaji/Mumbai: Meghna Subhedar, the 28-year-old Bangalore-based software engineer who went missing in April from CST railway station and had been thought to be dead till recently was found alive six months later on Friday. The CST railway police received a call from her father on Friday saying that Meghna had turned up at her grandfather’s house at Paud Road, Pune.
Investigating officer Anil Mane of the CST police told TOI, “We got a call from her grandparents that she was in Pune. We reached Pune and found that the girl was at their residence. She looked mentally disturbed and was talking irrelevant things. She did not answer our questions too.”
ACP Bapu Thombre said that Meghna told the police that this morning a crowd of people threw stones at her, which led to her getting a head injury. Police said a doctor who examined her suspected that the blow may have led to her remembering that she had relatives in Pune. Sources said that at around 5.30 pm on Friday, Meghna called up her uncle in Kothrud, Pune from a PCO. She said that she was scared and was being chased by goons. Her uncle picked her up from the PCO. LOST AND FOUND
‘Meghna said she was scared, chased by goons’
Panaji/Mumbai: The Bangalore-based software engineer Meghna Subhedar, 28, who went missing in April from CST railway station and was thought to be dead was found alive on Friday.
Meghna called up her uncle in Kothrud,Pune from a PCO on Friday and said she was scared and being chased by goons.
She was reportedly in a bad state and had injuries all over her body. Her uncle who picked her up from the PCO said that she had just Rs 3 in her pocket. The CST railway police left for Pune after being informed.
Investigating officer Anil Mane of the CST police said that Meghna told the CST police that she had been been several cities which she visited by train. “She has told us that she went to Kolhapur and some south Indian towns. She came to Pune from Hyderabad in a train. She used to beg and eat,'' Mane said.
Since Meghna is mentally stressed, her relatives told the CST police to make inquiries later. “We will soon call her for an interrogation and ask her a few questions,” said Mane. The police feel that she requires immediate counselling and told her relatives to summon a psychiatrist. Mane said that Meghna looks much weaker and stressed. Her parents are reportedly on their way to Pune from their home in Chhatisgarh.
Meghna’s mother Dr Anjali Subedar said, “Meghna called us around 3.30 pm on Friday and said that she was in Pune. She said that she was not feeling well and had suffered a lot. She sounded worried and tense.”
“As she sounded upset we didn’t ask her any questions and advised her to go to Pune to a relative’s place. Now she is with our relative and my husband has left for Pune,” said the mother.
Though the mother suspects that her daughter may have been tortured, she said that she doesn’t have the details and will only be able to tell where her daughter was for seven months and why she didn’t call when they meet.
“At the moment our only concern is that our daughter is fine. She sounded traumatised and we just want to ensure that she is okay.
“Finally our prayers have paid off,” said Dr Subedar, who had been praying and even fasting for her daughter’s wellbeing and safety.
Meghna was employed with an IT firm at Bangalore and went missing from Mumbai while on her way to her hometown Korba in Chhattisgarh. She had come from Bangalore to Mumbai at 4.50 am on April 10. She last called her father on April 10 saying she was at CST, Mumbai and would board the Geetanjali Express. However, when Meghna failed to reach home the next day, her mother, a gynaecologist, made enquiries with relatives and friends. On April 14, she asked her husband, Dr Mohan Subhedar, to lodge a missing person’s complaint with the CST police.
During a police probe it was disclosed that Meghna had two credit cards of ICICI Bank and SBI Bank. She had withdrawn Rs 5,000 from an ICICI ATM in Andheri. The credit card was used the next day to withdraw money from an ATM in Goa.
Meghna’s parents initially suspected that she had been kidnapped in Mumbai and the abductors were using her credit card. So they went to Goa, but were surprised to see CCTV clippings from ATMs showing that Meghna herself had withdrawn money in Goa. From the ATM video footage, her parents said Meghna seemed extremely frightened. Her parents thought she had been either blackmailed or kidnapped. However, investigations drew a blank.
In July, Goa police found a decomposed body on the Candolim beach, North Goa. While her parents initially believed it to be that of their daughter, DNA tests proved otherwise.
Meghna had divorced her husband in 2004. She had reportedly quit her job and was on her way back home when she went missing.
October 11, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Friday, October 10, 2008
Goa ;‘Australian put knife to waiter’s neck’
‘Australian put knife to waiter’s neck’
Restaurant Employees Claim Abusive Kelly Started Fight
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: The forensic report on the body of John Kelly, the Australian who died on Wednesday after being beaten up by some restaurant waiters in Calangute, says that death was due to internal bleeding due to a blunt and forcible impact.
“After going through the post-mortem report, we believe that the death may have been caused due to a punch, kick or from falling on a hard object or the floor,” said DySP Gundu Naik. The report says the Australian had a lacerated tear to the small intestine. The viscera has been preserved for chemical analysis.
Calangute police have arrested three persons—waiter Jaikrishna Das, 25, from Orissa, security guard Manab Basak, 32, from West Bengal and restaurant shift in-charge Jagat Pradhan, 23, from Assam—on charges of alleged murder of the Australian.
Kelly, 65, had picked up an argument with a restaurant waiter over how and to whom beer should be served. According to sources, Kelly arrived at Club City Restaurant at about 8 am on Wednesday and ordered beer for himself and a few Indian tourists sitting at the restaurant. But as the waiter didn’t listen to him, it led to an altercation.
Waiters at the restaurant say that the three arrested persons were provoked by the foreigner, who threatened them with a knife. “Eight Indian tourists were having alcohol when Kelly walked into the restaurant and offered to buy them drinks. This is the first time he had come to our place. He paid the waiter Jaikrishna Rs 500 and asked him to get the Indian tourists more beer. When the tourists refused to accept Kelly’s beer, the waiter returned the money to the Australian, who was then upset and abused the waiter with foul language and put a knife near his neck,” said Club City Restaurant manager Sachin Karanjkar.
“This scared the waiter, who pushed and punched Kelly on the face, as a result of which Kelly started bleeding from the cheek. Basak then snatched the knife from Kelly and in the tussle Kelly fell down. Jagat tried to pacify the waiter and Kelly, but the Australian left the place hurling abuses,” said Karanjkar. He said the foreigner later returned with a beat constable, but left immediately thereafter.
Incidentally, though Karanjkar talked about a knife being carried by the foreigner, he admitted that he didn’t know where the knife came from. Even the police admit they are clueless about the knife.
Rajesh Khanna, owner of the restaurant, said, “The boys were pushed into a corner and that’s the reason they overreacted. Let the law take its own course.”
Kelly had arrived in Goa on September 29 and was initially staying at Jack’s Place, Candolim Ximer, but had shifted to a rented flat on October 7, belonging to one Camilo Vaz at Candolim.
CALANGUTE MURDER
Aussie visited Goa frequently
Panaji: John Kelly, who died following an attack by a waiter at a Calangute restaurant on Wednesday, had come to Goa in 2003 with wife Bela. Sources said that the couple used to visit Goa frequently. Police said that Kelly’s passport reveals that he was a Scottish national settled in Australia and held a British and Australian citizenship.
People in the belt who knew Kelly said that he was a friendly person, but sometimes turned aggressive under the influence of alcohol. A restaurant owner who knew Kelly said, “He was a nice person, but sometimes when he was drunk, he would get aggressive and abusive. We met on Tuesday afternoon when he came for a drink to my restaurant. After one peg he left, stating he was not feeling well and was suffering from deep vein thrombosis.”
Police sources said that on Wednesday morning, Kelly was to get his ear checked by a doctor and had asked the complainant Monico Menezes, whom he had befriended in 2003 to help him. “When Menezes reached the flat at 10 am, he learnt from the landlord that Kelly had collapsed outside the entrance of his flat and was vomiting blood and
had to be shifted to the hospital in an ambulance,” said police sources.
Vaz told TOI, “I didn’t know Kelly personally as he had come to stay at our flat on Tuesday. He left the flat at 6 am on Wednesday and later in the evening we learned that he had expired.”
DySP Naik said, “Kelly didn’t collapse in the restaurant. He reached home and then collapsed. He was first taken to the CT scan centre and then shifted to GMC. His condition was critical and he was vomiting blood. Later he was put on a ventilator.”
Naik added, “According to the complainant, the doctor at GMC informed him that Kelly had internal bleeding in the abdomen because of which he was vomiting blood and needed to operated immediately.” Though Menezes refused to meet or speak, sources close to him said that during the treatment Kelly did vomit blood.
The post-mortem conducted on Thursday at Goa Medical College states that the death was due to, “haemorrhagic shock as a result of injuries to the small intestine consequent to blunt, forcible impacts which were antemortem, fresh and fatal in ordinary course of nature”.
October 10, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
Restaurant Employees Claim Abusive Kelly Started Fight
Preetu Nair | TNN
Panaji: The forensic report on the body of John Kelly, the Australian who died on Wednesday after being beaten up by some restaurant waiters in Calangute, says that death was due to internal bleeding due to a blunt and forcible impact.
“After going through the post-mortem report, we believe that the death may have been caused due to a punch, kick or from falling on a hard object or the floor,” said DySP Gundu Naik. The report says the Australian had a lacerated tear to the small intestine. The viscera has been preserved for chemical analysis.
Calangute police have arrested three persons—waiter Jaikrishna Das, 25, from Orissa, security guard Manab Basak, 32, from West Bengal and restaurant shift in-charge Jagat Pradhan, 23, from Assam—on charges of alleged murder of the Australian.
Kelly, 65, had picked up an argument with a restaurant waiter over how and to whom beer should be served. According to sources, Kelly arrived at Club City Restaurant at about 8 am on Wednesday and ordered beer for himself and a few Indian tourists sitting at the restaurant. But as the waiter didn’t listen to him, it led to an altercation.
Waiters at the restaurant say that the three arrested persons were provoked by the foreigner, who threatened them with a knife. “Eight Indian tourists were having alcohol when Kelly walked into the restaurant and offered to buy them drinks. This is the first time he had come to our place. He paid the waiter Jaikrishna Rs 500 and asked him to get the Indian tourists more beer. When the tourists refused to accept Kelly’s beer, the waiter returned the money to the Australian, who was then upset and abused the waiter with foul language and put a knife near his neck,” said Club City Restaurant manager Sachin Karanjkar.
“This scared the waiter, who pushed and punched Kelly on the face, as a result of which Kelly started bleeding from the cheek. Basak then snatched the knife from Kelly and in the tussle Kelly fell down. Jagat tried to pacify the waiter and Kelly, but the Australian left the place hurling abuses,” said Karanjkar. He said the foreigner later returned with a beat constable, but left immediately thereafter.
Incidentally, though Karanjkar talked about a knife being carried by the foreigner, he admitted that he didn’t know where the knife came from. Even the police admit they are clueless about the knife.
Rajesh Khanna, owner of the restaurant, said, “The boys were pushed into a corner and that’s the reason they overreacted. Let the law take its own course.”
Kelly had arrived in Goa on September 29 and was initially staying at Jack’s Place, Candolim Ximer, but had shifted to a rented flat on October 7, belonging to one Camilo Vaz at Candolim.
CALANGUTE MURDER
Aussie visited Goa frequently
Panaji: John Kelly, who died following an attack by a waiter at a Calangute restaurant on Wednesday, had come to Goa in 2003 with wife Bela. Sources said that the couple used to visit Goa frequently. Police said that Kelly’s passport reveals that he was a Scottish national settled in Australia and held a British and Australian citizenship.
People in the belt who knew Kelly said that he was a friendly person, but sometimes turned aggressive under the influence of alcohol. A restaurant owner who knew Kelly said, “He was a nice person, but sometimes when he was drunk, he would get aggressive and abusive. We met on Tuesday afternoon when he came for a drink to my restaurant. After one peg he left, stating he was not feeling well and was suffering from deep vein thrombosis.”
Police sources said that on Wednesday morning, Kelly was to get his ear checked by a doctor and had asked the complainant Monico Menezes, whom he had befriended in 2003 to help him. “When Menezes reached the flat at 10 am, he learnt from the landlord that Kelly had collapsed outside the entrance of his flat and was vomiting blood and
had to be shifted to the hospital in an ambulance,” said police sources.
Vaz told TOI, “I didn’t know Kelly personally as he had come to stay at our flat on Tuesday. He left the flat at 6 am on Wednesday and later in the evening we learned that he had expired.”
DySP Naik said, “Kelly didn’t collapse in the restaurant. He reached home and then collapsed. He was first taken to the CT scan centre and then shifted to GMC. His condition was critical and he was vomiting blood. Later he was put on a ventilator.”
Naik added, “According to the complainant, the doctor at GMC informed him that Kelly had internal bleeding in the abdomen because of which he was vomiting blood and needed to operated immediately.” Though Menezes refused to meet or speak, sources close to him said that during the treatment Kelly did vomit blood.
The post-mortem conducted on Thursday at Goa Medical College states that the death was due to, “haemorrhagic shock as a result of injuries to the small intestine consequent to blunt, forcible impacts which were antemortem, fresh and fatal in ordinary course of nature”.
October 10, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition
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