PANAJI
In the first case, Judicial Magistrate First Class, Ponda Dvijple Patkar acquitted a driver of a minibus, Sanjay Naik from Ponda. As per the chargesheet, on November 28, 2012 5.15 pm at Karanzal bridge, Ponda, the accused drove a minibus which dashed Dinesh Mazalkar, a pedestrian, who was crossing the road. Mazalkar passed away 20 minutes later while undergoing treatment at Community Health Centre, Madkai.
The defence disputed the time of the accident with the accused stating that the accident occurred at 6.55 pm and not at 5.15 pm as argued by the police. His testimony was backed by assistant director of transport, who produced the table of departure timings for buses and the doctor at health center, who informed the Court that the deceased himself said that the accident occurred a few minutes before 7 pm.
In addition to this, the police failed to depict the point of impact in the scene of offence panchanama. Of the two available eye witnesses, the prosecution examined only one who did not help establish its case and none of the other occupants of the bus were examined as witnesses.
In the second case, JMFC, Mapusa Carlos Santana da Silva acquitted one Michael Edward Ross of Borivali (West), Mumbai who allegedly drove a Maruti A-Star and dashed two Ukrainian nationals on a scooter near Bhumika temple, Anjuna on April 7, 2012 at 11.45 pm. Vodvmvr Umantsev, the rider died on the spot and pillion rider Oleksandra Pavlivehenko was grievously hurt.
Euclia Bazena, a Russian national and Raul Prazeres, the two passengers in the car driven by the accused were also injured.
The Court observed that the prosecution has lost an excellent chance to prove their case through these natural witnesses when the investigating officer deposed that Bazena and Pavlivehenko couldn’t be examined in the trial as they have left the country.
Prazeres, who was examined, did not support the case of the prosecution and instead, deposed that it was the deceased who approached at high speed and in the wrong lane while the accused attempted to avoided collision.
Based on the evidence, the Court observed that the panchnama was fabricated.
