MARGAO
Even as moves are afoot to conduct a fresh Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) on the track doubling project, activists and citizens waging a sustained battle against the controversial project have got another shocker.
Leave alone dropping the cases foisted against the protestors for participating in the agitation against the three linear projects, some of the prominent faces of the anti-track doubling project have received Court summons to answer the charges linked to the historic midnight agitation at Chandor on the night of November 1-2, 2020.
Surprisingly, the political class, including a couple of former and present MLAs, who were all part of the historic agitation at Chandor, along with thousands of people from across the State, have not been named as accused in the chargesheet.
Even as the eight persons summoned by the Court have been asked to attend the Court of Judicial Magistrate First Class, Margao on September 14, they said the summons is in connection with the Chandor agitation on the midnight of November 1-2.
The summons have required the presence of the persons to answer to a charge under Section 143, 145 and 341 of the IPC, dealing with unlawful Assembly and wrongful restraint relating to the chargesheet filed by the Maina Curtorim police station.
Four of the activists, Abhijit Prabhudesai, Diana Tavares, Vikas Bhagat and Freddy Travasso, who have been issued summons in the chargesheet filed by the Maina Curtorim police station are already facing trial in another case chargesheeted by the Railway Police before the Court of Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) in connection with the Chandor midnight vigil on November 1-2, 2020.
An activist told The Goan that they will get a copy of the chargesheet only when they appear before the Court on September 14. He, however, said the case registered against them pertains to the chargesheet filed by the Maina Curtorim police station before the Court.
The Maina Curtorim police had on November 4, 2020 registered a FIR against the activists in connection with the November 1-2 midnight agitation at Chandor in connection with the blocking of the Chandor road by the protestors.
The FIR registered on November 4, 2020 upon the State complaint lodged by PSI Mahesh Velip under Section 143, 147, 341 r/w 149 IPC stated that between 23:30 hrs of November 01, 2020 to 05.00 hours of November 2, at the road connected to crossing of Chandor railway gate, the accused persons namely Abhijit Prabhudesai, Freddy Travasso, Sandesh Telekar, Vikas Bhagat, John Douglos, Creson Antao and others with their common object formed an unlawful assembly and thereafter wrongfully restrained the movement of vehicular transport, other pedestrians by standing on the middle of the road for protesting against the order issued by the District Collector South Goa for double tracking of railway tack thereby causing obstructions to the vehicular movement and pedestrians.
