Wealthy elderly couple – Reginald and wife Joyce Coutinho would pay meticulous attention to keep their valuables secured, which is why the killers could not get the amount they expected from their luxury house. Police sources said the three accused – ex-worker Anil Zate (26), and accomplices Dhargal Anant Veer (32) and Rajesh Veer (25) had anticipated the robbery would fetch them booty worth lakhs of rupees. The attack on the eve of Ganesh Chaturthi was also planned at a time when the villagers were on festival break.
“The trio had planned to execute the robbery-cum-murder when people were busy preparing for Ganesh Chaturthi. They thought that after killing the couple, they would flee with large amounts of valuables and cash but they hardly got any,” a senior police officer, who is a part of the investigation team, told this reporter.
“The wife, who retired as a teacher was known to maintain everything systematically and as such, the valuables were always in bank lockers. The officer said the couple would also not keep large amounts of cash at home but they did keep a sizeable amount of foreign currency, which the attackers left back.
“After killing the victims, the attackers burgled a gold chain, some cash in Indian currency and other small belongings. They didn’t take any of the foreign currency notes with them. This was against their expectations though because they were certain to get a huge amount of money and valuables from the house,” he said.
The victims, who married each other about 25 years ago after their respective spouses passed away, had returned to Goa from Kuwait in the 90s to settle here. They owned several acres of properties at Dhargalim, Bastora and Colvale. Days before the murder, the couple had decided to donate 5,000 sq mtrs of farm to Don Bosco charity and 8-9 cows they owned.
Police sources said the murder was also a revenge plot as Zate was once arrested following a theft complaint from the retired teacher. However, the couple had withdrawn the case giving him an opportunity to improve.
“Joyce was particular about everything. She kept a record of even a single penny and would question if things were not in order. This behaviour of hers was hated by some workers. One such person was Zate who was arrested for theft following her complaint,” the officer said adding, “The case was subsequently withdrawn because they did not want to drag the issue as it would have spoilt the future of the young man.”
The accused have confessed to committing the grave offense even as the ongoing investigation is also ascertaining whether more people were involved. While the North Goa district police have solved the ‘blind murder’ they are yet to recover the burgled properties.
The couple was brutally murdered with koitas that the accused had purchased from a market in Banda, Maharashtra. On the day the incident was reported, the police recovered the weapons from the lawn and bedroom.
The investigation team will soon reconstruct the crime scene to determine the sequence of events.
