TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: The state government on Wednesday suspended Colvale Jail Superintendent Melvyn Vaz following the assault of nearly 50 prisoners, including foreign nationals, reports of which were widely covered by the media.
A day before his suspension, the government had shifted him to Mormugao Municipal Council as its chief officer.
On Tuesday, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar had directed the Chief Secretary R K Srivastava to suspend Vaz as he was prima facie found to have abetted the crime. Sources said it was on the orders of Vaz that the jail guards thrashed the inmates with sticks and stomped on their hands and feet.
“They were made to stand in a row and beaten up mercilessly. The prisoners have narrated their ordeal before the concerned authorities. Their statement reveals that Vaz instructed the jail guards to beat them up and was also a witness to the incident. Moreover, preliminary inquiry finds Vaz guilty because of which he was placed under suspension,” a senior bureaucrat told Herald.
Meanwhile, the Mapusa police station has begun an inquiry into five complaints related to the incident. Similarly, the victims’ lawyers are set to file a public interest litigation before the High Court Bench.
