Fresh autopsy of Goa minister’s ‘partner’ ordered
By IANSTuesday, June 1, 2010
PANAJI - A sub-divisional magistrate Tuesday ordered a fresh autopsy of Goa Tourism Minister Mickky Pacheco’s ‘partner’, who died after consuming rat poison, amid allegations of harassment by the victim’s family at the hands of the police on the instructions of a powerful person, possibly a politician.
The autopsy was ordered after women’s rights organisations claimed that 28-year-old Nadia Torrado’s death by poisoning was suspicious. She died in Chennai Sunday, 15 days after consuming the poison.
Superintendent of Police (South Goa) Allen D’Sa told IANS that they were probing why Nadia took poison in the first place.
“We are trying to probe why she consumed poison. All our energies are channelised in that direction,” he said, adding that the police were also trying to figure out if there was a delay behind the victim’s hospitalisation.
Meanwhile, the victim’s family accused D’Sa and other officials of harassment in a complaint to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
“The police have been threatening us with a murder charge. They even came searching our house at night for ‘evidence’. We were hinted about the second autopsy at 3.15 a.m. today (Tuesday). Can you imagine our plight because we had already arranged for a funeral for Nadia in the day,” the victim’s brother Romell Torrado said.
“We have complained to the NHRC against D’Sa, Deputy Superintendent of Police Umesh Gaonkar and police inspector Raju Rautdessai who have been harassing us no end, making us say things we do not want to say,” he said.
“Someone powerful is making these big officials move. Someone so powerful could be a politician,” he added.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has already demanded that the minister should resign from the cabinet or be dropped in order to facilitate an impartial investigation.
A BJP spokesman Monday alleged that the victim was raped and, therefore, consumed poison.
Pacheco, a Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) legislator, also faces a bigamy suit filed by his first wife Sara Pacheco. It is one of the several other criminal complaints lodged against him.
