Rohit remanded to 3-day police custody

NT NETWORK
Posted on 2008-11-06
PANAJI- The judicial magistrate first class, Mapusa, on Wednesday remanded Mr Rohit Monserrate, the accused in the German girl rape case, to three-day police custody.
The JMFC judge, Ms Bela Naik after hearing the arguments of the advocate, Mr Arun Braz de Sa, representing Mr Rohit Monserrate, and the public prosecutor, Ms Anna Mendonsa, appearing on behalf of the state, awarded the three-day police custody to Mr Rohit Monserrate for further investigation. The police had demanded seven-day police custody.
On Tuesday, Mr Rohit Monserrate had surrendered before the Calangute police as he had been wanted by the police in the light of accusations made by the mother of the minor German girl.
Mr Rohit Monserrate’s father and Education Minister, Mr Atanasio Monserrate, who was sitting in the packed JMFC courtroom, came out in a tense mood soon after hearing the pronouncement on the remand and literally wept before the Curtorim MLA, Mr Reginaldo Lourenco, who tried to pacify him. But the minister could not control himself.
At this point, Mr Lourenco stood before the minister blocking the view of his face even as the smiling junior Monserrate was taken out of the courtroom.
The Education Minister, the Curtorim MLA and Mr Isidore Fernandes arrived at the court at around 10 a.m. -- much before the rape accused was brought in by the Calangute police.
Two police jeeps conveying the police inspector, Mr Tushar Vernekar, Mr Rohit Monserrate, other police officials, PSIs, ASIs HCs and PCs pulled in the court premises before 12 p.m.
There was huge crowd gathered on both sides of the road to have a glimpse of the rape accused.
After the remand was awarded, Mr Rohit Monserrate was taken back to his cell-room at the Calangute police station. Then the Education Minister drove away in his private car, while Mr Lourenco and Mr Fernandes got in the vehicle waiting outside the court.
After filing an affidavit in the High Court in the case on Wednesday afternoon, the superintendent of police, Mr Bosco George said, “We have taken the Education Minister’s son into custody… the case is still under investigation.’’
Replying to a query that more arrests are likely, he said, “I will not say anything on this. We are interrogating the accused and the investigation is in progress.”
He said that non-availability of complainant and her daughter is creating problem in the investigation of the case.
Mr George said Mr Aires Rodrigues, the advocate of the complainant, is also presently not available to the police, who are trying to get additional information in the case.