MAPUSA
A female undertrial in a double murder case was arrested on Saturday in connection with the drug trafficking case recently detected at the Central Jail in Colvale.
Colvale police arrested Rovina Julio Lobo (35) based on information during the interrogation of a suspect, Asha Chodankar, a GHRDC security guard who was arrested on charges of attempting to smuggle drugs into the jail.
On August 18, GHRDC security guard Asha Chodankar had arrived at the main prison gate to report for duty. India Reserve Battalion (IRB) personnel stationed at the frisking point found her movements suspicious, and during a search, reportedly found 236 grams of ganja and 2 grams of charas, with a combined value of Rs 30,000, concealed at the bottom of two thermos flasks in her possession.
Additionally, three mobile phones and three ATM cards were later found and seized from her locker. Following a complaint in the matter, Colvale police arrested Chodankar, and she is presently in custody.
During police interrogation, Chodankar reportedly confessed that she had brought the ganja charas to hand them over to Rovina Lobo, an undertrial in the women's section of the jail.
Acting on this information, Colvale police filed an application with the Mapusa Court seeking permission to arrest Lobo.
Upon receiving the court's permission, police took suspect Lobo into custody on Saturday morning and later arrested her in the connection. A Mapusa court has remanded Lobo to two days in police custody.
A police investigation led by Sub-Inspector Prakash Ghadi and under the guidance of Police Inspector Sanjit Kandolkar is underway to determine Lobo's exact role in the prison drug-smuggling racket and whether she was allegedly procuring the narcotics for personal use or to supply them to other inmates.
MULTIPLE ACCUSATIONS
Rovina Lobo is a prime suspect in the double murder of Marta Clementina Lobo (64) and Vera Lobo (62) at Angrezwada-Marna in Siolim on November 15, 2020.
Rovina lived with her husband, Julio Lobo, their two young children, and her husband's two unmarried paternal aunts, Martha and Vera.
Rovina had reportedly been under distress on account of family disputes, property quarrels, and alleged abuse by her husband while he was under the influence of alcohol.
Fed up with the constant domestic harassment, Rovina is alleged to have hatched a plot to eliminate her husband and his two aunts by enlisting an accomplice, Subhan Noor Ahmed Rajyaballi (20), a native of Karnataka but residing at Assagao, and enticing him with an offer of Rs 30,000.
On the day of the incident, after her husband had gone out of the house, Rovina allegedly cut off the electricity supply. Taking advantage of the darkness, she and her accomplice are accused of brutally murdering the two aunts by hacking them with a sharp coita.
Her terrified seven-year-old daughter screamed and ran to neighbours for help. On realising that the double murder had been exposed, Rovina fled the scene with her accomplice.
Within a few hours, Anjuna police arrested both of them in Assagao on charges of murder. Both Rovina and Subhan Noor have been undertrials at Colvale Jail since then.
Acting on this, the prison administration conducted a raid on the women's ward, during which a mobile phone was reportedly found in the possession of Rovina.
