Team Goemkarponn
PORVORIM: In a major relief to absconding ex-Goa RSS chief Subhash Velingkar, the Bombay High Court at Goa has allowed Velingkar to appear before the Bicholim police by 5 pm today for questioning in an FIR registered against him for making a derogatory remark against St Francis Xavier and hurting religious sentiments.
High Court was hearing an anticipatory bail application of Velingkar, who expressed his willingness to be part of the investigation, provided the police assured that there would be no arrest.
Bicholim police in their submission said that it is unlikely that he would be arrested if he cooperated in the probe.
Velingkar’s move seeking anticipatory bail came two days after the Panaji Additional Sessions Court dismissed his previous anticipatory bail application.
Advocate Amit Palekar speaking to reporters after the hearing said that whether police forgot to take steps after non-compliance notice or there were deliberate lapses still remains unanswered.
“IO should have made an application before the Court to seek arrest for failure to appear for probe,” said Palekar.
“Matter has been kept for Oct 15 seeking investigation report from IO; Velingkar’s counsel made a categorical statement of surrender, which was the only option; the peaceful atmosphere is fostered through HC’s order today,’ said Adv Vaz.
Since October 1, Velingkar has been avoiding appearing before the investigating officer at the Bicholim Police Station over his contentious “DNA test” of St. Francis Xavier relics. In accordance with Section 35(3) of the BNSS, the police had sent him three notifications to appear before the investigating officer.
He received notices for the first time on October 5, the second time on October 6, and the third time on October 8, but all attempts to locate and deliver the notices to him were unsuccessful. The police have put notices on his home’s main door after he was last seen there in Panaji.
His custody is necessary for the Bicholim Police to gather evidence, determine the motivation behind his actions, and prosecute him in the most reasonable manner possible. It was advised that the police would fiercely oppose his motion for anticipatory bail before the High Court due to his continued evasion.
Velingkar is the subject of a Section 299 Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023 case that is being filed at the Bicholim Police Station. On October 4, the case was opened in response to the mounting clamour throughout the State for his arrest.
