the goan I network
OLD GOA
Coming down heavily on the police investigation, the family of late Prakash Naik has demanded that the case be handed over to the Crime Branch.
Further, they have demanded that the duo named in the message, one of whom is brother of a minister, be arrested and interrogated so that the truth is revealed.
Finally, the family has said they will not take possession of the body till their demands are met and they are satisfied with the investigation.
In a related development, post mortem was conducted on the body of Prakash Naik which revealed that the death of Prakash Naik was due to a bullet injury to the head.
Speaking to the media on Saturday, Prakash Naik’s brother, Vinay, said his brother had not committed suicide, but had been killed. “If one shoots himself, the gun will never lie on the chest and that too under the bedsheet. This is basic logic,” he opined.
“When I asked whether there are fingerprints on the gun, the forensic staff replied in the negative since they say that air-conditioner was on,” Naik said.
“As the brother of a minister has been named in the message, the investigation is being hampered. The police came, took the statement of the family, but did not give a copy nor take any signature,” he pointed out, while stating that the dog squad was also not pressed into service.
“And instead of investigating the two persons who have been blamed in the message, the police questioned the two persons who have been praised for help. The police should have investigated the suspects not the well-wishers,” Naik opined.
“Further, the police wrote in the statement that he had shot himself, which I told them to correct it. He did not shoot himself,” he added.
“We feel that there are many lapses in the investigation. Our demand is that both the suspects should be arrested and questioned, and the case handed to the Crime Branch. The driver’s phone should also be investigated.” Naik demanded.
“We will formally request the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Crime Branch, the police and other authorities for a Crime Branch probe in the case,” he stated.
Replying to a question, Naik said nobody is aware of the exact timing when the gun was shot because they were all in the temple.
“The maid had heard the sound but she could not
distinguish whether it was a gun shot or a fire cracker. She also could not recollect the exact time when she heard the sound,” he informed.
Stating the sequence of events, Prakash’s sister Sarita Govekar said that no sooner she got the message from Prakash Naik at 10.40 am, she rushed to the residence and saw her brother lying on the bed lifeless. “I tried to wake him up but he didn’t. I saw the mobile was lying on the bedsheet and underneath the bedsheet the gun was on the chest with one of his hands on the stomach and the other hand on the bed,” Govekar recalled.
“My brother was daring, he would never do anything like this. We want the arrest of the persons named as suspects in the message and the case be handed to the Crime Branch. Till then, we will not take possession of the body,” she added.
Vinay Naik came down heavily on news reports that his brother had committed suicide.
“Does the press know that he committed suicide? Does the police know that he committed suicide? How can it be concluded to be a suicide even before the post-mortem is conducted?” he asked.
Meanwhile, the CCTV footage which could have thrown light on the case is missing.
“We have been told that the CCTV footage of January 16 and 17 is missing. We do not know when the CCTV was put off,” Naik added.
