PANAJI
The Goa Police has achieved two convictions in separate cases, one involving murder and the other pertaining to the misappropriation of funds.
In the first case, an estranged husband hailing from Assam is sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for life on charges of murdering his second wife in March 2016.
As per the case details, the Bicholim police had registered a First Information Report against 42-year-old Amit Kumar Das for allegedly killing Helen Sarkar, aged 31, strangulating her in their rental house. He subsequently disposed of the body in a nearby laterite stone mine, concealing it by placing a large stone over it.
He was soon arrested for murder (Section 302 IPC) and destruction of evidence (Section 201 IPC), with the investigation led by Police Inspector Narayan Chimulkar.
During the proceedings, the prosecution’s case was upheld by the Principal and Sessions Court, resulting in the accused being sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for life and a fine of Rs 1.10 lakh. The Court has also directed to pay Rs 50,000 from the fine amount, as compensation to the legal heirs of the deceased woman.
In another conviction, the incident occurred way back in July 2008 wherein one Preetpal Singh was charged with misappropriating around Rs 3.33 lakh following a complaint filed by Derrick Pereira, the Manager of Aqua World situated in the capital city.
As per the case details, the accused held the position of Marketing Executive and was responsible for collecting cheques and cash from hotels and travel agents for bookings related to Aqua World’s board cruises.
An investigation revealed that between April 1, 2008, and June 2008, he had collected the sum of Rs 3,33,020 on behalf of Aqua World but failed to deposit this cash into the company’s account.
“Instead, he converted the funds for his personal use, constituting a criminal act of misappropriation punishable under Section 408 IPC,” it said.
This case was registered and investigated by Police Inspector Rahul Parab, who was then serving as a Police Sub-Inspector at Panaji Police Station.
After an extensive investigation and the receipt of a handwriting analysis report, the case was subsequently charge-sheeted before the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Panaji.
After a careful evaluation of the prosecution’s evidence, CJM Aruna Patrick Fernandes found the accused guilty of the offense and scheduled his sentencing on September 25.
