PONDA: The observations of the Additional Sessions Court at Ponda have vindicated the questions that O Heraldo raised with regards to the early police investigation in the Banastarim accident case.
The court has reprimanded the in-charge of Mardol Police Station for doing nothing, while the accused conspired to allegedly destroy evidence and harbour the real offender.
On Monday, after hearing Adv Amit Palekar’s plea and prosecution’s arguments, the court granted the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) State president conditional bail. However, the observation made by the court in para 54 has clarified the role of the police immediately after the horrific accident at Banastarim which snuffed out three innocent lives and left three others injured on August 6.
In its observation, the Court said, “The material on record makes it crystal clear that all the offences namely destruction of evidence, giving false information, harbouring real offender, etc, were committed in the presence of the in-charge of the Mardol Police Station and the police did nothing. The culprits were honourably and mysteriously allowed to retreat from the police station. This is alarming.”
“In the context of preceding findings in para 54, it stands proved that the applicant was available for prosecution for arrest way back on the day of the commission of offence itself. However, he is not arrested,” it said. This observation has completely exposed the men in uniform.
The Prosecution has relied on the statements of Mardol Police Inspector and at least three other subordinate police staff that were present on duty while the entire episode of the alleged harbouring of criminal and presenting Ganesh Lamani as the car driver unfolded.
It may be recalled that O Heraldo had stressed the need for investigating those involved in early investigations as everyone including the families of victims complained of attempts being made to save the main accused.
For further investigation, the Crime Branch has now received permission to seize the mobile phone of Adv Palekar and expect to unearth further details.
Palekar, Lamani granted conditional bail in Banastarim case
PONDA: The Additional Sessions Court, Panjim sitting at Ponda, on Monday granted conditional bail to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) State president Amit Palekar and ‘dummy driver’ Raju Lamani in the horrific Banastarim accident case.
Allowing the bail on the same conditions, which were imposed during the interim bail last week, the court asked Adv Palekar to surrender his mobile phone handset to the Crime Branch Police and to appear before the investigating officer on Tuesday from 10 am to 12 noon.
Lamani was also granted conditional bail. The police had already seized Lamani’s mobile phone handset.
On August 31, the Crime Branch had arrested Adv Palekar under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC for allegedly misleading the investigation by producing Raju Lamani as ‘dummy driver’ of the Mercedes car which met with accident at Banastarim and claimed three lives. Lamani was also arrested by the Crime Branch on the same day. The court granted interim bail on the same day and had posted the matter for further hearing on Monday.
