CALANGUTE: In a shocking incident, a 69-year-old Arnaldo Soares, a resident of Orda, Candolim, was allegedly murdered by unknown assailants on the intervening night of Saturday-Sunday. His body was found with his throat slit on Sunday afternoon.
The accused allegedly fled with the deceased’s car which was later found abandoned at the helipad in Sinquerim. Police said no valuables were stolen from the house. No arrests were made till late Sunday.
Top police officials rushed to the spot on Sunday afternoon.
According to the police, as per preliminary investigations, the assailants entered by removing some roof tiles of the traditional Goan house. A neighbour reported that at around 2.30am on Sunday, he heard some commotion from the part of the house occupied by the deceased. When they went to check, someone from inside said there was nothing to worry about. The neighbour then went away. The assailants then left from the main door of the house and drove away with Soares’ car which was found abandoned at the helipad at Sinquerim.
Neighbours said Arnaldo Soares, an OCI card holder, was residing in Canada and had returned to stay at his family house at Orda, Candolim. He was a bachelor. His cousins and in-laws were also staying in another part of the same large house. They were a landlord family, though they had sold most of their land.
Sources in the police said that they are looking into the case from all angles and checking out the CCTV footage of the car which was abandoned at Sinquerim.
Since there were no call details on the deceased’s mobile, the police are going to write to the company to check the calls made and received on WhatsApp. Police also stated that the deceased was staying alone and whoever had killed him could have been a known figure, but was only trying to misguide the investigations by showing entry and exit through the roof.
Further investigations are on.
