CANACONA
The chargesheet against Tawadkar and seven others will come up for hearing for the fourth time after it was filed by Canacona Police on June 10, seven years after the incident is alleged to have taken place at Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary.
Canacona Police had filed a 46-page chargesheet against then MLA (Poinguinim) Ramesh Tawadkar and seven others in June this year accusing them of forming unlawful assembly and taking away two accused from the legal custody of Range Forest Officer at Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary in 2009.
The case came up thrice before and on all three occasions Tawadkar, who is accused number one in the case, sought exemptions from personal appearances and was regularly represented by his lawyer Prathiba Gane in the JMFC court.
According to sources, while two other accused “ Manoj Padwalkar of Karwar (accused 2) and Damu Naggappa Naik of Dhupemoll-Bhatpal (accused 8) “ are now deceased, the other accused named in the chargesheet have made personal appearances, besides being represented by their advocates before the JMFC during the first three hearings on July 20, August 1 and August 31.
Tawadkar had reportedly sought exemptions from personal appearances in the JMFC court to attend the assembly session during the second and third hearings.
If sources are to be believed, Tawadkar will have no other option but to personally appear during the fourth hearing on September 16 before JMFC Sarika Phaldessai in the Canacona court. “On September 16, Tawadkar may not have any valid reason to avoid the fourth court hearing, though he had justifiable reasons on previous occasions,” explained a reliable source. It may be recalled that Canacona Police had filed a chargesheet against Tawadkar and seven others under Sections 143, 147, 451, 353, 224, 225, 506(2) read with 149 of IPC.
