Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: The North Goa Additional Sessions Court has once again denied bail to Vikas Yadav, the main accused in the 2024 murder of Porvorim resident Rehbar Khan.
In her order, Judge Kshama Joshi described Yadav as the “mastermind” behind the crime, observing that he had convened the group that went on to attack Khan. The court held that releasing him could pose a serious risk of threats to eyewitnesses and obstruction of the trial process.
“The accused no. 1 (Yadav) is the mastermind for forming the unlawful assembly with the common object… he informed accused no. 2 and others, after which they assaulted and killed the deceased. Hence accused no. 1 is the main person in forming the unlawful assembly,” the order stated.
The court also endorsed the arguments of the Public Prosecutor, who maintained that Yadav’s release would likely result in intimidation of witnesses.
This was Yadav’s third unsuccessful attempt to secure bail. The court stressed that no new grounds had emerged since his previous rejections, pointing to witness testimonies and recoveries made at his instance as evidence of his involvement.
According to the prosecution, Yadav and his associates kidnapped Khan, who was employed at a Porvorim salon, and unlawfully detained him before subjecting him to assaults at various locations in Goa. They also robbed him of his mobile phone and later abandoned him along a road in Pilerne to destroy evidence. Khan succumbed to his injuries shortly after.
