Daijiworld Media Network- Panaji

Panaji, Jun 18: In a significant judgment, the North Goa court has acquitted all 12 accused in the 2018 unlawful assembly case involving alleged threats, abuse, and wrongful restraint of local panchayat members and electricity department officials during a public protest in Azossim-Mandur, Batim, and St Lawrence.

The court, presided over by Chief Judicial Magistrate Sarika N Fal Dessai (in charge of JMFC ‘E’ Court, Merces), observed major lapses in the police investigation, including failure to record statements of key independent witnesses and the local MLA who was present at the scene. The court remarked that this investigative gap critically weakened the prosecution’s case and raised doubts over the credibility of the allegations.

The accused — Rama Kankonkar, Arthur D’Souza, Olencio Simoes, Avinash Tavaves, Roshan Mathias, Alice Mathias, Dhiraj Naik, Dattaprasad Naik, Francisco Po, Suraj Naik, Paulina Po, and Jyoti Naik — had been charged with forming an unlawful assembly, threatening to halt substation work, blocking the national highway, and wrongfully restraining the sarpanch and panch members.

The incident occurred on April 3, 2018, following a prolonged power outage in the area. A large number of locals had gathered at the electricity department to voice their grievances.

According to the complaint, the crowd later moved to the worksite along with the local MLA, where tensions escalated.

However, the court noted that only two complainants, Cipriano and Ajit, stood by the charges, while five others who initially filed the complaint did not support the prosecution during the trial. No independent witnesses, despite being present at the site, were examined. The MLA’s statement was also never recorded.

“The failure to record the statements of independent witnesses and the local MLA, who could have shed light on the actual sequence of events, is fatal to the prosecution’s case,” observed the judge. She further noted that the lack of specific identification or role attributed to accused nos. 3 to 12 raised the possibility of false implication.

In her order, Magistrate Dessai concluded that the prosecution failed to establish the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt, leading to their acquittal. The judgment underscores the importance of comprehensive investigation and unbiased witness testimony in securing justice.