Team Herald
PANJIM: After asserting that all culprits involved in the ex-tik tok start and BJP member Sonali Phogat’s death “will be punished” Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Sunday said that if required, the State government will hand over Sonali Phogat’s murder case to the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) after completion of all formalities.
At the same time, Sawant said that the Goa Police have done a thorough investigation into the matter so far.
Sawant said, “Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar called me and requested to hand over Phogat murder case to the CBI on request of Phogat’s family. I have told him that we don’t have any problem and we will hand it over to CBI,” he said adding, “After all formalities are completed today (Sunday), if required, will give this case to CBI”.
On Saturday, Phogat’s family members met the Haryana Chief Minister and sought a CBI inquiry in the matter, he said claiming that the Goa Police are doing a thorough inquiry in the matter. “I congratulate then (Goa police) for doing a thorough investigation but if Haryana Chief Minister and the family members want the case to be given to CBI, we don’t have any problem,” said Sawant.
Former Tik Tok star and BJP leader Sonali Phogat (43) from Hissar, Haryana was brought dead to a private hospital at Anjuna on August 23, a day after arrival in Goa along with her two associates, who have now been arrested by the Anjuna police on alleged murder charges.
—
JMFC dismisses Nunes’ bail plea
PANJIM: The Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC), Mapusa on Sunday rejected the bail application of Edwin Nunes. JMFC Judge Teisy Mascarenhas heard the bail application at the Panjim Court, where she was attending a seminar. Nunes has filed a bail application before the JMFC, Mapusa soon after he was arrested by the police. JMFC Judge Teisy Mascarenhas rejected Nunes’ bail application after assistant public prosecutor (APP) Shivani Bodke told the court that since he was booked under section 20 (ii) (b) of Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, the matter should be taken up before the relevant (NDPS) court.
Adv Raju Poulekar, who argued on behalf of the accused, said that he will file a fresh application before the NDPS court seeking bail for Nunes, after receiving the copy of the JMFC’s order. “We had moved a bail application since FIR shows that methamphetamine was weighed with polythene bag and its weight was 2.20 grams as shown in the panchnama.
Therefore we moved JMFC stating that the weight of polythene bag cannot be considered under NDPS Act because it is not a prohibited substance and therefore this court has jurisdiction to deal with the bail application,” Adv Paulekar said.
At the same time, Adv Paulekar told the court that his client doesn’t own Curlies restaurant and it is for the prosecution to find and prove who owns the place. He said that drugs weren’t recovered from his person and therefore he can’t be made accused in the present case.
“He also there are no documents establishing that Nunes has the ownership rights of the restaurant situated at Anjuna and produced some house tax receipts and liquor licence in the name of his sister. As such Nunes is neither the owner nor manager of the restaurant,” Poulekar said.
The prosecution brought to the notice of the court that Nunes was running the business and the merits of this case should not be appreciated at this stage of granting bail and it is to be decided at the trial stage.
It is reliably learnt that the Curlies restaurant is owned by Nunes’ sister.
—
One held for supplying drugs
PANJIM: The Anjuna police on Sunday arrested Ramdas Mandrekar of Anjuna on the charge of supplying drugs to Dattaprasad Gaonkar, a hotel room boy-cum-drug peddler, who provided it to one of the associates of BJP leader late Sonali Phogat.
With Mandrekar’s arrest, the police have arrested five persons so far including Phogat’s two associates Sudhir Sangwan and Sukhwinder Singh.
Curlies restaurant owner Edwin Nunes and Dattaprasad Gaonkar were arrested on Saturday after police seized 2.20 grams of methamphetamine from the washroom of the said restaurant.
The three accused – Nunes, Gaonkar and Mandrekar were produced before the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) at Panjim, who remanded them to five days in police custody. Phogat’s associates Sudhir Sangwan and Sukhwinder Singh have already been remanded in 10 days police custody.
