PANAJI
Amid concerns over investigations into the death of Siddhi Naik (19) of Nachinola, who was found dead at Calangute beach in August, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant told the Assembly on Monday insisted that police investigations on two occasions had revealed no injuries on the body and that, the youngster had died due to drowning.
"Police had conducted a thorough investigation into the death of Siddhi Naik and the case was re-investigated,” said Sawant.
“Her mobile, the persons in her contact list, CCTV camera footage of the areas have been verified and nothing suspicious has been found. A team of doctors conducted a post mortem and there were no injury marks on her body. The post mortem report clearly reveals that it is a drowning death,” said the chief minister.
The chief minister said police investigation of her mobile phone had also revealed that she was constantly searching about the ill-effects of Covid on Google search.
Sawant also claimed that the death of Siddhi Naik was being politicised.
"If we compare the previous and later statements of relatives of Siddhi Naik, we can infer that someone is trying to politicise the issue,” said Sawant.
“The police department has carried out a proper investigation and there has been no political interference in the case,” he added.
The chief minister said the crime detection rate is the highest in the country.
The Goa Forward Party had asked what action the government had taken on the police officer responsible for not preserving the viscera of late Siddhi Naik, while also seeking to know why the police had kept the victim’s parents in the police station for 10 hours under the pretext of investigation.
The chief minister tabled the detailed report of the investigation in the Assembly, while Benaulim MLA Churchill Alemao demanded that the case be handed over to the CBI for further investigation.
The body of the 19-year-old Nachinola girl was found in mysterious circumstances on the Calangute beach on August 12, a day after she was reported missing by her family.
The police said that the girl died of drowning and the autopsy report ruled out sexual assault or violence.
