Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: The Merces Sessions Court has raised serious concerns over the manner in which the investigation was handled by Mandrem Police in connection with the death of 63-year-old Umakant Khot at Morjim. While granting conditional bail to three accused persons, the court observed that mandatory legal procedures were allegedly not followed during the initial stages of the inquiry.
The accused — Lokesh Puttaswamy, Rohit Prajapati and Viji Supan — were granted bail after the court noted that they had reportedly been kept in police custody for nearly 28 hours before any formal First Information Report (FIR) was registered or arrests were officially shown.
According to the court’s observations, such detention without registration of an FIR or compliance with arrest procedures amounted to a violation of constitutional safeguards guaranteed under Article 22.
The court further took note of the delay in registration of the FIR, stating that Mandrem Police filed the case around 32 hours after the incident came to light. The order also mentioned that the FIR was registered only after details of the post-mortem findings surfaced on social media platforms, raising questions over the timing of the police action.
The case pertains to the alleged murder of Umakant Khot at Morjim. Investigation into the matter is presently underway.
