The North Goa Additional Sessions Court has ordered that charges be framed against three men in connection with the death of a 31-year-old showroom manager, more than two years after an assault that prosecutors argue triggered fatal medical complications.
The Presiding Judge Bosco Roberts directed that Myran Fernandes, Salusinho Afonso and Gauresh Mangueshkar be tried for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, intentional insult and criminal intimidation, read with common intention of the Indian Penal Code.
In its order, the court said medical records and forensic opinion, when read together, “prima facie indicate” that the injuries suffered by the victim and the infection that followed could be linked to the assault, ultimately leading to his death during treatment.
The court added that witness statements and a test identification parade were sufficient at this stage to establish a prima facie case that the accused, acting in concert, assaulted the victim, abused him and threatened a relative who attempted to intervene.
The incident was reported on February 19, 2023, in the Miramar area, where Sumeet Megeri, a resident of Kamrabhat and a manager at an apparel showroom in Panaji, was allegedly attacked after a minor altercation. Police said the confrontation began after a parked Royal Enfield motorcycle fell when Megeri leaned on it, prompting a verbal dispute that escalated into violence.
The prosecution stated that Megeri was punched and kicked while his brother, who intervened, was allegedly threatened with a wooden stick and a shock absorber if he pursued the matter.
Megeri sought medical attention soon after the incident, but was hospitalised nearly two months later after his condition worsened. He was eventually referred to Goa Medical College, Bambolim, where he died on May 10, 81 days after the assault.
A post-mortem examination later attributed the death to meningitis resulting from an infected scalp hematoma caused by blunt force trauma. The police subsequently registered a case under Section 304 of the IPC against the accused men.
