MARGAO: The Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC), South Goa, has extended the warrant period of convicted MLA Francisco (Mickky) Pacheco by five days. JMFC Pooja Kavlekar, on Friday, cited many lacunae in the action-taken report of Colva police station in-charge, Uttam Raut Dessai. She directed the inspector to diligently inquire into the MLA’s whereabouts and said proclamation of a convict could not be drawn before satisfactory investigation was done in the matter.
“The court doesn’t doubt the efforts of the police. However, it is noted that the police have no information about the last whereabouts of the convicted MLA, Mickky Pacheco,” said judge Kavlekar, adding that “the police have not tried to trace the call records of the MLA’s family.”
Moreover, “the government officials attached to Mickky, like the PSOs and personal assistants haven’t been tracked or examined. (There is) no reference of his lawyers being traced or their (phone) call details (have been) obtained.”
She advised the investigating officer Dessai on how to properly trace the last location of the MLA with the help of call details. She ordered him to file a full report in accordance with her observations, returnable on April 22.
Inspector Dessai submitted before the JMFC that the police sub-inspectors from Goa were still in Delhi, and the DIG of Delhi, Ravindra Yadav, had been contacted for help in finding the MLA, adding that Pacheco’s Supreme Court advocate was also being traced. He further informed that the IMEI number of Pacheco’s phone was being traced, but he appeared to be using a different mobile number and handset.
The intervention petition filed by advocate Aires Rodrigues was also heard on Friday. Adv Rodrigues termed the action-taken report of the police as ‘cosmetic’ and stuffed with irrelevant details to make it bulky. He accused the police inspector of being hand-in-gloves with the convicted MLA. He also informed the court that Pacheco’s PSOs were neither being traced nor were there lookout notices for them in police stations.
The orders on the intervention application of Adv Rodrigues will come up for hearing on Saturday afternoon.
