CANACONA
Chairman of Goa Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and BJP State Vice-President Ramesh Tawadkar has been sentenced to imprisonment 'till rising of the Court' and fined Rs 15,500 after being convicted in a case pertaining to criminal intimidation in 2017.
Delivering the verdict on Wednesday, Canacona Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Shanoor alias Jagdish P Audi stated that “the accused is sentenced to undergo imprisonment till rising of the Court and imposed fines of Rs 500 under Section 352 of IPC, Rs 5,000 under Section 506 (2) and Rs 10,000 as compensation to the complainant, Puno Velip.”
Tawadkar, who was present in the Court when the order was pronounced, had earlier submitted an application for suspension of the sentence under Section 389 CrPC, stating the verdict is being challenged in a higher court.
Puno Velip of Cotigao had filed a case against Tawadkar, then minister for sports, agriculture and tribal welfare, accusing him of wrongful restraint, criminal assault, use of force and criminal intimidation with a threat to kill at the Canacona Police Station on January 3, 2017.
Canacona police investigated the case and later filed a charge-sheet against Tawadkar under sections 341, 352 & 506 (2) IPC.
The case went on for three years at the Canacona JMFC and Tawadkar was found guilty and convicted under Sections 352 & 506 (2) of IPC, but was found not guilty under Section 341 IPC in the second week of October.
PSI Damodar Shirodkar investigated the case and while Assistant Public Prosecutor Anirudh Prabhu Chimulkar represented the State, Prathiba Gane Desai argued on behalf of Tawadkar.
The prosecution and defence examined four witnesses, an eyewitness Manohar alias Navadeep Shivram Dessai, who was the pillion rider on the two-wheeler of complainant when the incident took place, a panch witness Bhiku Ganaba Naik Desai, the complainant, Puno Velip and Investigating Officer PSI Damodar Shirodkar.
Tawadkar has insisted that the FIRs against him in 2017 are politically motivated to defame him and had been aimed at denying him the BJP ticket to contest the then assembly polls.
Tawadkar was denied the BJP party ticket to contest the Canacona constituency polls and eventually contested as a rebel independent candidate, where he was placed third after BJP candidate Vijay Poi Khot and the eventual winner, Isidore Fernandes.
