MARGAO
While harassment appears to be the sole motive for Aman Gopal Kavitya to kill Colva resident Baptista D’Costa on Betalbatim beach, it may not be the only reason for the murder as the accused lifted away gold and cash worth Rs four lakh from the person of the victim.
This gives an impression that the 21-year-old accused, who has been remanded to five days police custody, timed the murder so as to also rob the Colva businessman, even as the police insist that the robbery may have been coincidental. They insist Aman was determined to get rid of Baptista to avenge harassment meted out to him by the latter.
When a question was posed to Superintendent of Police South Arvind Gawas on the murder angle, he said the accused had a one-point agenda to kill the deceased, but must have lifted the gold ornaments and cash on the person of the deceased because he was in dire need of money.
“One thing is clear that the accused had planned to kill Baptista for the reason that he could not bear the harassment meted out to him. This is amply evident by the fact that he purchased a knife to commit the offense and also lured the decease to the Betalbatim beach,” SP Gawas said.
When The Goan questioned how an accused, who had come prepared with the sole aim to kill Baptista to avenge the harassment, had also indulged in robbery, SP Gawas said “From the interrogation of the accused, it is apparent that Aman was also badly in need of money. He had a girlfriend and he used to go out with her to the Betalbatim beach almost every alternate day.”
Secondly, the district police said that Aman executed the planned murder only on the day when the accused saw that the deceased Baptista was carrying cash of Rs 10,000, and wearing gold ornaments, such as three finger rings, a bracelet and a gold chain. “This only goes to show that the accused had the intention to kill, but had an eye on the property on the person of the deceased,” SP Gawas said. Meanwhile, Colva Police station in-charge, PI Filomena Costa said the police is trying to find to whether the accused Aman was involved in petty thefts in recent times. “Interrogation of the accused will reveal whether he was involved in petty theft cases in and around Colva, but which went unreported,” PI Costa said.
He said the police has recovered the three finger rings, the bracelet and the gold chain, besides cash of Rs 9,500 and 200 US dollars. “We have not assessed the value of the gold ornaments, but the value may turn out to be Rs four lakhs,” PI Costa added.
