TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: A division bench of the Bombay High Court at Goa comprising Justice B P Dharmadhikari and Justice A S Gadkari has reserved the verdict on the challenge to the order passed by then Margao Additional Sessions Judge Desmond D’Costa acquitting the three accused in the 2007 killing of Xelvona youth Samir Mapari.
The three accused Rajesh Desai, Balesh Desai and Vinay Desai were on February 20 last year acquitted of the murder charges. The main accused Rajesh Desai is the younger brother of former BJP Industries Minister Ramrao Desai. Initially, Adv Aires Rodrigues had filed a petition in the High Court challenging the acquittal but the petition was disposed after the State filed an appeal challenging the acquittal.
The initial challenge to the order was on 38 grounds, with Adv Rodrigues drawing the attention of the High Court to the findings by Judge D’ Costa that the DNA report was negative though the report did not state so.
He had also pointed out that there was a public revelation by Public Prosecutor Sarojini Sardinha that she was pressurized in the case.
Initially, the murder trial of the three accused was on before the South Goa Principal Sessions Judge Nutan Sardessai but in August 2012 it was transferred before Additional Sessions Judge Desmond D’Costa. The case of the prosecution was that the three accused had hatched a criminal conspiracy to eliminate Samir Mapari.
