Panaji, Feb 21 (IANS): The Congress on Tuesday demanded a CBI probe into the alleged murder of a local youth in 2006, allegedly by a BJP leader, after a video surfaced on social media in which a former associate of the politician claimed he was an eye-witness to the alleged crime.
Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, All India Congress Committee secretary Girish Chodankar said that the Goa Police had failed to probe the case for nearly a decade and therefore said a Central Bureau of Investigation probe was warranted.
"This is a very sensitive case and we have no faith in Goa Police under BJP rule, since BJP assembly election candidate has been directly named by his former driver and key witness Pandurang Adharkar (in the video). Despite this the local police have not even called, forget about arresting Viswajit Krishnarao Rane. This raises further Adoubts into the Goa Police functioning," Chodankar told reporters.
The 3.17 minute video contains footage of a Kolhapur-based Pandurang Adharkar, who claims he was employed as a driver in 2006 by BJP's candidate from Poriem assembly constituency, Vishwajit K. Rane and that he was witness to the latter shooting one Shanu Gaonkar at a bar in North Goa's Sattari sub-district.
In the video, Adharkar alleges, that the alleged murder of Gaonkar was a revenge act, in response to the murder of Rane's brother Prithviraj, in 2005, in which Gaonkar was allegedly involved.
Rane has however rejected the allegations, claiming he had sacked the driver before the 2017 elections and that the allegation was a part of a political conspiracy against him.
"This is a political plot against me. I had sacked the driver before polls and he is being used by my rivals against me. I have nothing to do with Gaonkar," Rane told reporters.
Earlier in the day, the Goa Human Rights Commission issued notices to the state Chief Secretary and Director General of Police, after a city-based lawyer-activist Aires Rodrigues in a complaint attached along with the video, raised questions about the police probe into the 2006 case.
"The blatant acts of commission and omission by the state government in failing to nab the real culprit who is hand in glove with the police, not only makes a mockery of justice, but is a clear human rights violation against the deceased and his family members by not allowing the cause of his death to be probed honestly and in not giving the deceased and the family rightful dignity guaranteed as a Human right," Rodrigues said in his petition to the Commission.
North Goa SP Karthik Kashyap said that the police were conducted an enquiry into the allegations levelled in the video.
"All aspects are being verified. We are also interrogating people concerned with the case as part of our enquiry," Kashyap said.