Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: The Special Court at Merces has acquitted Panaji BJP MLA Atanasio “Babush” Monserrate in a rape case that was registered against him in 2016. The court also cleared the co-accused in the case, Rosario alias Rosy Ferros.
The case originated in 2016 following allegations by a woman who claimed that her mother had sold her to Monserrate, who was serving as the St Cruz MLA at the time. She further alleged that she was drugged and sexually assaulted.
Based on the complaint, police launched an extensive investigation and later filed a chargesheet running over 250 pages. The prosecution had listed nearly 40 witnesses to support its case during the trial.
Initially, the FIR included provisions under the Goa Children’s Act. However, after an ossification test was conducted to determine the complainant’s age, she was found to be above 16 years old. Consequently, the sections under the Goa Children’s Act were dropped from the case.
The matter was subsequently tried before the Sessions Court, with the Special Court at Merces delivering its judgment acquitting both Monserrate and the co-accused.
The verdict brings closure to a case that had remained under judicial scrutiny for nearly a decade.
