TEAM HERALD
PANJM: Having failed to get a response from the Indian Navy, to its request to assist the police to trace the sword, used in the pub attack case last month, Panjim town police have sent them a reminder Monday, requesting for urgent help.
The police department had urged the Navy to assist them to locate the sword, which is believed to be thrown into the Mandovi River by alleged assailant Zaine Almeida after stabbing two youth outside a city pub in April.
The Navy’s Goa Unit had subsequently written to its headquarters in Cochin for official permission. With no reply forthcoming till date, Panjim police sent a fresh reminder.
The 23-year-old Mapusa resident is charged with the attempted murder of Raju Sarin and Rafael da Costa outside ‘Down The Road’ pub during the early hours on Sunday, April 21. He was arrested around five hours after he fled from the crime spot in his car.
During his custodial interrogation, Almeida disclosed that he threw the sword in Mandovi River following which various agencies have been pressed into service to locate the material evidence.
The accused has meanwhile applied for bail before a local magistrate to which the police have appealed against. He is currently remanded to judicial custody.
The investigating team is also waiting for chemical analysis report of the exhibits including blood stains sent to Central Forensic Laboratory at Hyderabad.
