Goa rape case accused remanded to 7-day custody

Panaji, Jan 7: A local court has remanded John Fernandes, the Goa politician accused of raping a Russian woman, to a seven-day police custody.

The accused was produced before the Judicial Magistrate Margao on Thursday, Jan 7.

Fernandes, who was missing for over a month, surrendered before the Crime Branch on Wednesday, Jan 6.

The politician, who contested and failed in the 2007 assembly elections, was absconding after the high court rejected his bail plea.

John's lawyer Rajiv Gomes, who insists that his client was not missing, said “He did not surrender before the police as the legal formality of approaching Supreme Court was on. When his case was dismissed, he decided to surrender."

However, the Crime Branch investigating the case had issued a look-out circular and a local court had declared the accused as an absconder.

OneIndia News