VASCO: The Verna police on Friday arrested 10 members of Goenchea Ramponkarancho Ekvott (GRE) for allegedly assaulting three persons at Velsao on Thursday night, over their support for railway double tracking work.
According to information given by Mormugao DySP Salim Sheikh, the trouble started when the victim’s father Apolino Pinto was first allegedly verbally abused at the monthly GRE meeting over the issue of his son Aliston (34) supporting the work of laying double track in the village.
However, on the same night the GRE members went to Pinto’s residence and accosted him. Pinto later narrated the incident to his son Aliston, who submitted an application to the police narrating the incident. The police told him that both the group will be called at the police station next day.
However, the police could arrest only nine persons and referred the 10th accused to the hospital on health grounds.
Police said that cases have been registered against the accused for rioting and additional sections of IPC will be slapped against them after receiving the medial reports of the victims.
Though there have been often clashes between the Villagers and Velsao-Pale and the railway authorities over the laying of double tracks, the situation turned ugly on Thursday night when three villagers were brutally assaulted.
But when Aliston and his two friends Custodio Rodrigues and Pascoal Rodrigues were in a supermarket, opposite the Velsao Church, the accused came there and entered into an argument with them and assaulted them outside the supermarket.
One of the accused hit a beer bottle on Aliston causing injuries to him while, another accused attacked him with a knife. The accused also assaulted Custodio and Pascoal, who tried to rescue Aliston.
The police arrested Francisco Braganza, Anthony D’Mello, CajieD’Mello, JoaquimFernandes, Felix Vincent, Raymond Fernandes, Baptist D’Mello, AgneloFernandes, MeninoFernandes and Philip Theodosio. However, the last named has been admitted to the hospital on health grounds.
One of the accused Francisco Braganza is a panchayat member of Velsao-Pale-Issorcim village panchayat, police said. More arrests are likely in the offing, the police said.
Cases have been registered against all the accused under sections 143, 144, 147, 148, 323 and 326 read with 149 of IPC. Additional sections of IPC will be slapped against the accused after receiving the medical reports of the injured, police said.
PSI Utkant Desai is conducting further investigations under the guidance of Verna PI Diego Gracias and DySP Salim Shaikh.
