SALIGAO
Porvorim PI Jivba G Dalvi filed the 69-page chargesheet in the court of Judicial Magistrate First Class Mapusa against 51 Nigerians and one Ghanian, indicting them of 17 offences, including attempt to murder, forming an unlawful assembly armed with weapons like iron rods and wooden sticks, wrongfully restraining a police van carrying the body of Nigerian Obodo Uzona Simeon and damaging the hearse van (GA-07-G-0244) by breaking its window glasses, etc.
The 52 African nationals have also been accused of assaulting PSI Ratnakar Calangutkar and occupants of the hearse van police constables, Ajit Gaonkar, Rupesh Kandolkar, Pramod Naik, Ladu Gawas and Bhiso Mandrekar from Mapusa Police station. The chargesheet stated that the incident had taken place on October 31, 2013, when the complainant, PSI Ratnakar Kalangutkar, alongwith others were carrying the body of Nigerian Obodo Simeon in a hearse van from Parra to GMC Hospital at Bambolim for post-mortem. “When they reached at O’Coqueiro at about 11.50 am, some of the accused came on their scooters and blocked the vehicles with scooters. Thereafter, they banged the door and window of the hearse van. Later, they assaulted the police staff, causing them injuries,” stated the chargesheet. “Later, the accused pulled out the body from the hearse van and threw it in the middle of the road. The accused did not show any respect to the police, but instead abused them and forcefully restrained the police from taking possession of the body and paralyzed normal flow of traffic along the NH17 for several hours.” The chargesheet was filed under Sections 341, 143, 147, 148, 152, 153, 427, 504, 506, 323, 324, 307, 332, 353, 297 read with 149 of Indian Penal Code and under Section 3 of Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act 1984 and Section 8 (B) of National Highway Act 1956. Porvorim Police took nearly 3 years to file the chargesheet. Several police inspectors took charge of the police station but did not take initiative to file the charge sheet. Finally, PI Dalvi took interest in this case and filed the
chargesheet.
