PANJIM: The Panjim police have filed a chargesheet against a Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) and a lawyer in connection with the alleged theft of gold ornaments kept as muddemal (court property) in a criminal case. The chargesheet names advocate Mujahidin Shaikh of Valpoi and Sanguem JMFC Waseem Hussain Rizvi. It has been filed before the Senior Civil Judge and Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Merces, who has posted posted the matter for arguments on February 2. Following the development, all judicial work allotted to JMFC Rizvi has been withdrawn. The Quepem JMFC has been directed to officiate at the Sanguem court on Mondays and Thursdays, sources said.
Both accused have been charge-sheeted under Sections 454, 457, 380 and 120(B) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The complaint was filed -on February 1, 2023, by the then Senior Civil Judge and CJM, Ram Subrai Prabhu Dessai.
The case pertains to the alleged removal of seized gold ornaments from the evidence room of the JMFC court at Altinho, which was burgled on January 31, 2023. The incident had raised serious concerns over se-curity at key judicial buildings. The evidence room is located in Court building no. 5, which houses court-rooms, a computer and video confer-encing room, library, Nazir section, Assistant Public Prosecutor’s room and the bailiff’s room.
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During the investigation, police found that the main door of the Civil Judge Junior Division ‘C’ court office-cum-open court on the ground floor was open, with the latch damaged and parts lying on the floor. Investigators also noticed that the glass pane of the wooden door of the Nazir section had been removed from its frame and placed on the bailiffs’ table. The intruder allegedly entered the Nazir section through the glass-door passage using plastic chairs. Police further found that cupboards containing valuable muddemal properties, including gold and cash, had been forcibly broken open, with some items scattered on the table inside the Nazir office. Envelopes and parcels containing muddemal were also found lying in the corridor outside the office and placed on a sofa.
CCTV footage from the court premises captured the accused, following which police arrested advocate Shaikh. During the investigation, police found that Shaikh was in constant contact with Judge Rizvi and that the two had exchanged WhatsApp messages. While the judge had deleted the messages from his phone, police recovered the conversations from the lawyer’s mobile phone.
The judge was allegedly found to be part of a criminal con-spiracy. Judge Rizvi was chargesheeted after the Goa government and the Bombay High Court granted sanction for his prosecution. Reacting to the developments, Quepem and Sanguem Ad-vocates Association president AdvSanjit Dessai said the judicial officer concerned has not been handling day-to-day cases listed on the board, resulting in the Sanguem court’s workload being shifted to the Quepem court. He expressed concern that the Association has not received any official communication regarding the suspension of the judicial officer, stressing that transparency is essential to avoid speculation and rumours.
