PANAJI
The bereaved father of Mohammad Aga, whose body was found floating in River Mandovi following an accident on Mandovi Bridge on September 1, has challenged Panaji police’s case of accidental death and taken to social media seeking justice for the 21-year-old.
Father Nazim has demanded a murder probe by the Crime Branch or the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against the errant car driver and the occupants, as he suspects Aga was beaten to death before being dumped in the river.
He pointed out 33 bruises on the body, revealed in an autopsy conducted on September 3, 2022.
The Panaji police, on the other hand, are adamant about its line of investigation under section 304-A IPC (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code. “It is a clear-cut case of accidental death. We arrested the driver for the offense. We have evidence to prove that,” an officer told The Goan insisting that the victim biker wasn’t harmed physically prior to his death. The errant driver was soon bailed out as the offense is bailable.
Nazim however raised questions about the police investigation since the day his son’s semi-covered bruised body was found floating near an offshore casino vessel on September 2. “Autopsy report itself is self-explanatory that our son did not die (of accident), he was murdered and died due to excessive beating by the four occupants of the Karnataka registered MG SUV (which was) driving (driven) at very high speed,” he said adding that Aga’s helmet was forcibly removed and he was brutally beaten by the car occupants.
The complainant sought to know if the police were reluctant to take action against the car owner, who is believed to be a consular from the mining Hospet city of Karnataka.
Nazim also rubbished police’s claim that Aga was flung into the river owing to the accident impact, even before the autopsy was conducted on the following day. “…first of all how can one wearing a helmet adjust a hoody over it?” he said.
He asserted that Aga was a trained cliff diver and expert swimmer, and as such, he could have easily swam to the shore if thrown in the waters alive. From being abused by a constable to being harassed by the police, Nazim has sought Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s intervention to transfer the case to the CBI or CB.
As per police details, an accident was reported on the Old Mandovi Bridge around 1:30 am on August 31, wherein an MG Hector car bearing registration plate KA-35-P-3786 collided with a two-wheeler GA-07-J-5738. A search was launched thereafter and his body was found three days later. The police registered a case of accidental death with the family refusing to accept the FIR arguing that their son was murdered. The father also alleged that the occupants’ alcohol test wasn’t conducted by the police, who were initially hesitant to register the missing complaint.
