MARGAO: Amidst Nuvem MLA Francisco (Mickky) Pacheco’s calls for banning Francis de Tuem’s song ‘Good Behaviour’, Margao Police Inspector C L Patil apprised South Goa District Magistrate Sachin Shinde about the situation.
Francis had filed a complaint at Margao police station following which offences were registered against seven persons and others and there has been a counter complaint filed against Francis as well.
Sources stated that attempts were made to call both groups who have filed complaints for a meeting to try and bring an understanding with regard to preventing any law and order situation. This is significant as the tiatr will be performed at the Pai Tiatrist hall at Ravindra Bhavan on November 18. The police have raised concerns with the SP about the difficulties they faced in dealing with Wednesday’s incident.
South Goa Superintendent of Police, Shekhar Prabhudesai has submitted a detailed report to the district collector. This report was prepared by the DySP Dinraj Govekar and the SP stated that they have not asked for a recommendation for the ban of the song or to call the two parties but that it was for the Collector to take a call on the matter taking into account the law and order situation.
Francis will be in Margao on Saturday and is expected to speak to the authorities on this matter. He has submitted to the Margao police that the accused in his complaint have threatened that in case the song is sung in future tiatrs, the performance shall be disrupted and he will be physically assaulted and permanent disabled from singing by cutting his vocal chords. He said he has also been threatened with death.
Francis, in his written statement to the police, said that historically tiatr has been a forum of expression of public resentment against misbehaviour by public personalities. In case any person feels aggrieved then such person has a right to resort to legal remedies, more so, if such person is an elected representative.
While Pacheco has denied involvement in the incident, Francis has accused Pacheco of urging the group to attack him. Pacheco on the other hand has denied that Francis was attacked and has made serious charges about the use of a gun.
Pacheco said he would file a defamation case against Francis as he had enough evidence with the recording of the song and that the contents of the song were defamatory, the allegations false and have no grounds. Along with the defamation case, he said he will ask that the song is not allowed to be sung till the matter is resolved and that he would wait for the Collector and the police to decide.
Advocate Aires Rodrigues has stated that he will defend Francis in the defamation case. Rodrigues is a known critic of Pacheco, and this development which is expected to be announced on Saturday could just make the plot murkier.
