PANJIM: The Special Court, Panjim on Tuesday adjourned to November 9, the hearing in the infamous Panjim Police Station attack case reported in February 2008.
Nearly after 14 years and following the directives by the High Court of Bombay at Goa, the trial has been fast tracked before the Special Court, Panjim.
The hearing had to be postponed since the CBI counsel Adv Singh sought time citing personal difficulties.
Revenue Minister Atanasio ‘Babush’ Monserrate, his wife Taleigao MLA Jennifer Monserrate, CCP ex-mayors Tony Rodrigues and Uday Madkaikar, former councillors Daya Karapurkar and Naguesh Kariashetty, ex-Taleigao sarpanch Janu Rosario, John Rodrigues and all other accused were present in the court.
The CBI has chargesheeted 36 accused in the case even as one accused died since. One of the accused has been declared absconder. The brief facts of the case are that on February 19, 2008 at about 7.30 pm, Monserrate along with other accused and 500 other people from Taleigao held a morcha in front of Panjim Police Station and shouted slogans and demanded suspension of the then Panjim PI Sudesh Naik for failing to take action against the complaint filed by one Ryan Godinho against five persons. At around 9.30 pm, the crowd became restive and pelted stones damaging the public property of Panjim Police Station. Due to stone pelting, as many as 41 police personnel sustained injuries and the police resorted to lathicharge, fired tear gas and also fired in the air as the crowd was uncontrollable.
During the last hearing on October 11, PI Tushar Lotlikar had told the court that the morcha was led by Babush Monserrate and identified him.
Meanwhile, social activist Adv Aires Rodrigues on Tuesday urged Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai to direct Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to drop Babush Monserrate from the Cabinet to ensure that the trial in the case in which Monserrate is the main accused is free and fair.
