the goan I network
SANGUEM
A 30-year-old woman from Maina-Curtorim was found murdered in a jungle at Banshi-Rivona early Friday morning. One youth has been arrested in this connection.
According to reports, the deceased, Valencia Fernandes was employed at a medical establishment in Margao and had gone to her workplace on Thursday.
Valencia was to have celebrated her birthday on June 17 and she had phoned her mother at noon, stating that she would do some shopping and would return home at night.
When Valencia did not reach home till late Thursday night, her concerned mother tried calling her on her mobile phone, but there was no response. The worried family then reported the matter to the Maina-Curtorim police station later at night.
On Friday morning, some locals from Rivona had gone for their morning walk, when they noticed a female body lying in the jungle area. They notified the Quepem police and a police team rushed to the site.
A mobile phone and some cash were found in the pant pocket and police took the SIM card and inserted it into another phone. A short while later, they received a call from a family member on the SIM card and police then identified the body.
Going by the nature of injuries, police investigations revealed that the woman was strangulated with a shawl and is believed to have been murdered somewhere else. Injuries on the foot reveal that the woman may have been dragged to the site at Rivona.
Quepem police pressed fingerprints experts and a police dog squad into service and later sent the body for an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
Police officials, including South Goa Police Superintendent Arvind Gawas, DySP Serafin Dias, Quepem PI Roy Pereira and PI C L Patil, rushed to the site to take stock of the investigations.
Sanguem MLA Prasad Gaokar and former MLA Subhash Faldesai also visited the crime site and interacted with the police team.
According to sources, Valencia had been due to get married in September and the murder has shocked the family, relatives and friends. Quepem police later arrested Shailesh Velip, who was reportedly known to the deceased, in this connection and investigations into the murder are in progress.
