PRATIK PARAB
pratik@herald-goa.com
MARGAO: A week is a long time in politics, crime and criminal investigations. The case was transferred from the Margao Police to the Crime Branch with an alacrity seldom seen and then the South Goa Superintendent of Police on leave and the Head of the Crime Branch has now taken over the District.
It would appear that this is one murder case with which the government is taking no chances. But as each day goes by, and more information comes in, both officially and mainly through the sources close to the investigation. It is becoming difficult to dismiss this as a simple case of spontaneous robbery related killing.
No valuables have been stolen from Walke’s shop, Krishni Jewellers. Also, there is no confirmation on whether Walke’s killers entered and shot at Walke immediately or was there an attempt at robbing and looting the shop. There appears to be no evidence of any attempt to rob and loot and there are more signs pointing to this being a pre-planned assassination project, not quite linked to a robbery motive.
What is interesting is that some of the accused or just initial suspects of this case are closely linked to the Anjuna valuables robbery case barely two months ago. The suspects and/or accused in both cases, on either side of the pandemic lockdown are the same.
Evander Rodrigues was one of the prime accused in the Anjuna valuable ornaments robbery case wherein he is alleged of having robbed the valuables from his own grandmother and having handed it over to Omkar Patil. The investigation is already on record claiming this fact. However, the police are yet to figure out where the rest of the valuables went.
The facts in the case, the South Goa Superintendent of Police proceeding on a leave, and the intense political band with this case has received, starting with the arrival of the BJP top brass at the spot of the incident is creating a lot of curiosity among the people. In this case, assistance of the Crime Branch for investigation was immediately sought and on the very night of the commission of the crime, the case was moved from the South Goa Police to the Crime Branch.
The new officer in-charge of South Goa is also the Superintendent of Police of Crime Branch and the Crime Branch Police Inspector investigating the case C L Patil has served as Anjuna Police Inspector recently.
Meanwhile, the Congress has made an allegation claiming that conflicting reports are emerging on the motives of the murder and conspicuous silence of the authorities on the progress of the investigation.
Goa Pradesh Congress Committee President Girish Chodankar had also questioned the “interference of extra-statutory political authorities” such as the BJP senior functionaries in the case.
The Crime Branch and the police remained tight lipped there is little information on the details of the case flowing from the investigation agencies.
