THE GOAN SPECIAL
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MURDER UNSOLVED - II
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BLOODY CRIME AT QUITLA
* Sunita, while returning home is fatally assaulted by an unidentified person
* She dies on the spot. Accused flees from the scene after committing crime
* A passerby raises alarm on noticing the body lying near an abandoned house
* Police spot dark mark on the neck of the deceased. Gold chain found missing
* Gold earrings found intact, cellphone 15 feet away from the body of deceased
* Post mortem report indicates death due to forceful impact by hard blunt object
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PROTEST RALLY
* Unhappy over slow pace of investigations, Porvorim MLA Rohan Khaunte calls on SP Gaonkar
* On April 19, a group of residents stage a protest rally to Porvorim police station
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When multiple police teams collaborated in investigating the murder of noted perfumer Monica Ghurde at Sangolda, it took all of three days to solve the murder case.
But a murder case pertaining to a lesser known woman in another village only a few kilometres away has been languishing for the past six months.
With Porvorim police yet to solve the murder of 22-yr-old Sunita Lamani at Dhonwado-Quitla in Salvador-do-Mundo on March 29, many have been left wondering if police investigations depend on the profile and prominence of the victim.
Sunita's parents are labourers and natives of Hubli, residing in a rented house in Quitla since the last 20 years.
According to the case history, Sunita was returning home as usual along the pathway at Dhonwaddo after dropping her niece at a ‘Balwadi’ at 9 am, when she was fatally assaulted by an unidentified person. She died on the spot, while the accused fled from the scene.
A passerby noticed the body lying by the side of an abandoned house and raised an alarm. Locals then notified the family of the deceased and Porvorim Police. Superintendent of Police Umesh Gaonker, DySP Nelson Albuquerque and then Police Inspector Rajesh Kumar later visited the site to supervise investigations by Porvorim police.
Speaking to The Goan at the time, DySP Albuquerque said there was a dark mark on the neck of the deceased and the gold chain was found missing.
“But the gold earrings were found intact and this indicates that the motive of murder was not robbery. The mobile phone of the deceased was found hardly 15 feet from the body,” he added.
“The murder must have taken place between 9 am and 9.30 am. The accused must be a known person and was waiting for her,” said DySP Albuquerque.
“The very fact that the mobile phone and the footwear of the deceased were found 5 metres away from the body indicates that there was some resistance from the woman,” said DySP Albuquerque.
According to then PI Rajesh Kumar, post mortem reports had indicated that death was cause due to “cranio cerebral damage caused due to blunt forceful impact by hard blunt object which was ante-mortem and fresh at the time of death and fatal in ordinary cause of nature.”
Unhappy over the slow pace of police investigations into the Lamani murder, Porvorim MLA Rohan Khaunte had called on SP Gaonkar along with a delegation of residents from Salvaodor-do-Mundo on April 18 to know the progress of the case.
On April 19, a group of residents from Salvado-do-Mundo staged a protest rally to the Porvorim police station, demanding the arrest of the killer. Police had told the aggrieved residents at the time that investigations were on the right track and that, the culprit would be nabbed shortly.
Sunita's elder sister, Kamala, told The Goan via phone from Hubli that the entire family had gone to their native place in Hubli after the post mortem, to conduct the final rites.
“After 15 days, we returned to Goa and gave our statements to Porvorim Police. My family and I then left Goa for good in May and are now staying at Huddenahalli-Karnataka.”
“Since May 2016, they have received no call either from the police or the Sarpanch of Salvador-do-Mundo. They, however, received a call from Goa, with the caller abusing my mother and this number has been conveyed to the police,” said Kamala.
When contacted, Porvorim Police Inspector Jivba Dalvi said the police had so far interrogated 75 people in the connection.
“We have kept informers at Salvador-do-Mundo and also appealed to people to give us clues. Incoming and outgoing calls on the mobile used by the deceased Sunita are being analyzed. Police recovered a danda from the scene of incident, but since the deceased did not bleed there were no bloodstains on the danda. Police are investing this case very seriously and hope to arrest the culprit soon,” said PI Dalvi.
