Mayor,20 others get bail in police station attack case

Panaji, Mar 1 (UNI) City Mayor Tony Rodrigues and 15 others along with five corporators, allegedly involved in Feb 19 Panjim headquarters police station attack case, in which policemen were seriously injured, were granted anticipatory bail here today.

A judicial Munciff First Class court granted the bail on the condition that they should assist the police in investigation whenever they were called for inquiry.

Charges against them included 'attempt to murder' the sleuths, unlawful assembly and criminal conspiracy, besides abetting the attack on the police station along with Taleigao MLA Atanasio (Babush) Monserrate and others.

The legislator has still been ailing in a city hospital with grievous injuries, which he received during the lathicharge and bursting of teargas shells that followed the attack on the station house.

The mob, which observed a sit-in dharna in front of the police station demanding suspension of a police inspector for allegedly colluding with a rival gagster, went berserk in the night including even in arson and vandalism, besides laying seige of the police station.

Later, the cops raided the bungalow of Babush and ransacked furniture and other property including some costly vehicles, besides rounding up his son allegedly in retaliation to the attack on the station house.

Babush, his wife and four others had last week been enlarged on bail by a sessions court. This followed transfer of the North Goa SP, DSP and Inspector besides come constables, while the government was yet to concede the demand for a judicial probe into the episode.

Meanwhile, NGO Utt Goenkara has decided to organise a public meeting tomorrow to protest the attack on the legislator, his wife and the residence to demand a judicial probe. It had also decided to move the National Human Rights Commission against the ''delinquent cops''.

Most of the politicians, however, conspicuously remained silent on the attack on the cops and the police station, but were grinding axes against the police for ill-treating and manhandling the peoples' representatives including Ms Jennifer Monserrate, who was member of North Goa Zilla Panchayat.

UNI BM SG VC2230