MAPUSA
Four days after the vandalisation of the Shivaji statue, Mapusa Police have recovered broken pieces of the statue and also the stone that was used to commit the crime but are yet to establish the motive of the crime.
Police said that an eyewitness in the incident has also been identified whose statement has been recorded.
“During the custodial interrogation the accused confessed of committing the crime. We have also succeeded in recovering the stone used to commit the crime and the broken pieces of the face of the statue from the accused persons,” said Jivba Dalvi, Mapusa SDPO.
However, the CCTV footage available with the police could not provide a clear picture of the incident.
Police informed that the investigation was still going on specially to establish the motive in the crime.
The vandalisation of the Shivaji statue at Karrasvaddo, Mapusa came to light on the morning of August 14 and on the same evening, Mapusa Police detained three persons from the minority Catholic community.
After intense interrogation the alleged accused “ Nigel Fonseca, Alex Fernandes and Lawrence Mendes, all residents of Acoi, Mapsua “ were arrested on August 15.
Later, a Mapusa court remanded the trio to six days police custody
Mapusa Police had registered an offence against the accused under Sections 295-A (outrage religious feelings), 153-A (promoting enmity between groups) and 427 r/w 34 (indulging in mischief) of the IPC.
Under the instructions of the DGP a special police team was constituted under the supervision of SP North, Nidhin Valsan to investigate into the damage caused to the statue of the Maratha warrior king.
The incident had upset the Shivaji premis who protested at the site and demanded arrest of the accused within seven days.
