Team Herald
PANJIM: The Goa Police personnel have been left red-faced once again, with the prime accused in the land grabbing cases Siddiqui alias Suleman Khan on Wednesday reiterating his claim that his second viral video was “fake” and recorded at gunpoint following his re-arrest in Kerala in December last year.
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Claiming that there was threat to his life, Suleman lifted his hand and showed the wound to the media persons, alleging that police were trying to eliminate him.
“Yes, my second video was fake. It was taken at gunpoint. I was given an electric shock by a PI. My first video (accusing the police) was real,” Suleman told mediapersons outside the Court of Principal District Judge and Sessions Judge, North Goa premises at Altinho, Panjim court as the police
whisked him for a hearing.
It is pertinent to note that the video went viral after police rearrested him and brought him back to Goa on December 23 last year.
The Special Investigating Team (Land Grabbing) police are seeking his custody in a land grabbing case reported at Mapusa in 2022, while the Anjuna Police also want Suleman in a murder case reported in 2014 where he was alleged to be one of the conspirators.
Representing the State, Public Prosecutor N Kalangutkar sought four days police custody of Suleman to complete the investigation.
However, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant maintained silence on the allegations made by Suleman Khan.
Suleman was earlier remanded in six days police custody and before he could be produced for further remand, he escaped from the Crime Branch custody on the night of December 12 last year.
Arguing on behalf of Suleman, Adv Salman K Pathan brought to the notice of the Court that the JMFC, Mapusa, had already granted him bail since he had completed 15 days in police custody.
The SIT (Land Grabbing) had filed a criminal revision application challenging the order of the JMFC, Mapusa.
After hearing the arguments, Principal District and Sessions Judge Irshad Agha reserved the order at 10 am on February 24.
According to the Anjuna police, Suleman and five others allegedly hatched a conspiracy and killed a 74-year-old woman at Bamonwado, Anjuna in July 2014 after the latter refused to execute a sale deed of a land belonging to the victim. Though Suleman was arrested in 2018, he was released on bail and did not appear for trial following the chargesheet. A proclamation was issued against him to appear in the Court.
Suleman was also arrested by the Mapusa police in 2018 on the charge of assaulting a Mapusa-based lawyer Dynaneshwar Kalangutkar in his office with a syringe, in September 2016. He was later released on bail.
Currently, Suleman is facing three cases related to land grabbing including two reported at the Mapusa Police Station, and one case registered at the Valpoi police station.
Reacting to the allegations made by Suleman Khan, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) State president Adv Amit Palekar on Wednesday demanded that the investigations be handed over to the CBI or a Judicial Commission be constituted to inquire into the allegations.
Adv Palekar said, “Whether Suleman is right or wrong, he has made allegations that the second video was made at gunpoint. This has to be investigated as it is clear that police are used to nail political opponents of BJP. Suleman had made allegations against SP and DySP of the Crime Branch and they should have been placed under suspension and investigations should have been handed over to different officers. The officers who have accused cannot probe the case because there will be certain bias. The government cannot take it lightly and it should have ordered an inquiry into the allegations.
Last week Adv Palekar had claimed Suleman had told the Bicholim Court that he was forced at gunpoint to make a second video.
