CALANGUTE: There seems to be no end to the plight of French actor Marianne Borgo, who continues to live a life of a hostage inside “her house” with no access to basic amenities such as electricity and water and surrounded by “goons”.
After highlighting the French actor’s pitiable condition, Herald on Saturday visited the house in Calangute where Borgo lives in darkness and found the security personnel on guard at the spot – hired by both Marianne for her safety and by Nirmala Acharya e Souza, the widow of Francisco Do Rosario Agnelo Souza. Borgo says she had purchased the house, wherein no one is allowed to enter the property.
When the Herald reporter tried to enter the property, initially he wasn’t allowed but was later permitted after his identity was checked.
When contacted, the Calangute Police said, “This is a civil matter and we are investigating the case. There are no goons, only private security personnel.”
When Herald met Marianne, the only media to do so, her side of the story indicated that matters were far from “civil”. As soon as the reporter tried to speak to Marianne, she burst into tears and narrated how she is living in darkness and fear.
She complained saying the electricity connection has been cut, no one is allowed, and not even a doctor was allowed as she was sick. Her maid gets her two buckets of water for bathing and she uses the well water for drinking purposes and other work.
She further complained of how her laptop, books, diaries, iPad and other items were robbed the day when she left her house for yoga class and how they tried to lock her in by breaking open the doors.
A sobbing Marianne said, “This is my house and I have been living here and paying for all the expenses.”
Marianne is not allowed to leave, her power and water are cut off, but PI says there are no goons and no one is held hostage
When Herald contacted Calangute PI Dattaguru Sawant to seek details of the investigation, he said that since the filing of the complaint on January 23, he has been personally visiting the site. He said, “There are no goons at the residence or inside. Each time we visited the place, the French lady opened the doors and there was absolutely no case of her being held hostage. However, she (Marianne) has hired private bouncers (male as well as female) and a maid for her. In the other property, which Nirmala Acharya claims to be hers, her sister was found in the house corridor with her personal security personnel. Both parties are having private security personnel and there is no case of anyone being hostage. This is a civil and property dispute.”
Meanwhile, when Herald reached the spot, the gate was locked, with security men hired by Nirmala at the gate, refusing entry to anyone who tried to enter. Nirmala’s sister too was present at the site.
Herald’s visit further revealed that three security personnel hired by Marianne were stationed at the house entrance.
When contacted, Nirmala’s sister said she doesn’t want to speak about anything in this regard as the matter is in court. However, when Herald spoke to Nirmala from her sister’s cellphone to ascertain the facts, she replied, “This is my property and this house belongs to me. I have all the documents and this matter is in court, I don’t have to say anything more.”
When the Herald reporter requested that he wanted to meet Marianne, it was only after checking his identity, he was allowed to meet the actor and speak to her.
Herald once again contacted the PI and questioned why the electricity connection has been disconnected, but he said the house belongs to Nirmala and since the electricity bill is in her name, she has got the power disconnected by the Electricity Department. But there was a standard response, “This is a civil matter”.
