log on to thegoan.net @thegoaneveryday FRIDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2023 GOA MARGAO: After battling for life for over a week at the Goa Medical College and Hospital, Bambolim, one of the two workers injured in last week's Fatorda scrapyard blast has succumbed to burn injuries. Fifty-three-year old Baban Singh, s/o Ram Jagan, resident of Chandrawada, Fatorda and a native of Uttar Pradesh, who was undergoing treatment for burn injuries has expired late Wednesday evening. Fatorda police said the patient had suffered burn injuries while working at Shaikh Automobiles Scrapyard, Chandrawado- Fatorda. The deceased had sustained more than 60 per cent burn injuries. Fatorda police station in-charge PI Ditendra Naik informed that the police has registered a case of unnatural death following the death of the worker. IN SHORT >> CB directed to release seized food grains PANAJI: Judicial Magistrate First Class in Ponda in its three different orders has directed the Crime Branch to release the large quantity of food grains that were seized during raids conducted on godowns and fair price shops in November 2022. Crime Branch had raided several locations mainly in Ponda, Sanguem and Panaji and seized large number of food grain bags worth over Rs 10 lakh. The Goan (Playstore) 13 pages PRICE ` 8 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME VIII, NO. 226 Stranded garbage-laden trucks begin unloading waste at Sonsodo shed Fatorda scrapyard blast: One worker succumbs to burns Facebook.com/thegoaneveryday 2 3 GOA Vasco RTO earns `60L in 2022 only on fancy, VIP registration numbers THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI Video surveillance cameras, installed by Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Limited, and tireless investigation by eight joint teams of Panaji police and Crime Branch, led to the solving of a high-profile theft case in the JMFC Court at Altinho. The police arrested practicing lawyer Mujahid Shaikh, for decamping with valuables from the evidence room on Tuesday night. The 2015-year pass out from a reputed law college in Panaji, Shaikh has been in conflict with the law on two previous occasions too. Superintendent of Police (North Goa and Crime Branch) Nidhin Valsan said the accused from Valpoi has confessed to the crime. "He walked into the Court building around 5pm on POLICE FILE „„The accused walked into the Court building around 5pm on Tuesday and hide in the toilet „„When the doors were locked (by the guards) after the Court's working hours for the day, the accused came out of the toilet and went to the evidence room from where he stole away cash and gold which were in sealed envelopes „„After the crime, he jumped out of the Court building at around 9:30 pm on Tuesday itself „„The matter came to light the following morning Tuesday and hide in the toilet. When the doors were locked (by the guards) after the Court's working hours for the day, the accused came out of the toilet and went to the evidence room from where he stole away cash and gold which were in sealed envelopes. He has confessed to the crime," the officer said in a late-night press conference held at Panaji police station on Thursday. The accused was brought to the police station after his arrest from Ponda for investigation. As reported by The Goan, the thief conducted a recce of the area four days prior to striking the evidence room. Valsan WEATHER >> Max: Min: Humidity: TIDES 34 C 24 C 43% Low: 04:19 15:39 High: 08:54 22:51 What are the benefits of cold water therapy or cryotherapy? said that being a criminal lawyer, the accused was aware of sealed Court properties stored in the Court custody. "After the crime, he jumped out of the Court building at around 9:30 pm on Tuesday itself. The matter came to light the following morning," he added. After scanning through the CCTV cameras installed around the city as a part of the Smart City project, the police teams were able to zero in on Shaikh who initially tried to mislead the former by changing his escape route. The accused is previously involved in a fatal accident and rioting cases at Valpoi. The IPS officer said that Shaikh has been practicing in Goa, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh. However, he presumed stealing the valuables will be easy moneymaking trick to procure >Continued on P5 Hardik doesn’t mind playing Dhoni’s role for India Teacher punishing student for discipline not offence: Court Says teacher is bound to act accordingly and sometimes be a bit harsh to inculcate good habits THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The Bombay High Court at Goa has set aside the conviction of a school teacher who was convicted for ‘beating’ a student and while overturning the conviction and sentence handed out by Children’s Court by ruling that the prosecution failed to establish the case as also ruled that “scolding a school student for committing mistakes and even some punishment given to maintain discipline would not constitute offence.” The High Court also noted how, corporal punishment though banned under the Goa Children’s Act, didn’t necessarily constitute a criminal offence and the Act empowered a ‘competent authority’ to deal with such incidents. The case dates back to March 2014 when the teacher Rekha Faldesai, teaching at Government Primary School, Headland, Sada was KEY COURT RULING… „„One thing is admitted by both these witnesses/victims that (the younger daughter) consumed water from her water bottle and thereafter she also consumed some water from the bottle of another student. Only on seeing this, accused scolded (her) and told her to bring sufficient water for herself in her water bottle. This incident is quite normal in a primary school. In order to discipline the students and to inculcate good habits, the teacher is bound to act accordingly and sometimes be a bit harsh …OBSERVATION „„As far as use of ruler or stick by the accused is concerned, the same has not been sufficiently established. Though claimed that they were assaulted with a stick, no such stick was found on the day of incident or when the panchanama was conducted. The investigating officer is completely silent about the visit of the school on the day of registering the offence accused of having “voluntarily caused hurt” to two minor victim girls, aged 5 years and 10 months and 8 years and 10 months, respectively, “by assaulting them by means of a stick”. The teacher was also accused of having caused ‘child abuse’ under the Goa Children’s Act for the same incident. According to the father of > Continued on P5 THE GOAN I NETWORK SEASON'S FIRST YIELD!: A farmer harvests this season's raw mangoes from his farm at Altinho, Panaji on Thursday.  Narayan Pissurlenkar Govt admits few takers for solar energy scheme THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The Goa government on Thursday admitted that its scheme to popularise solar energy has unfortunately found few takers. The discouraging response from the local consumers has, at least for now, shattered the BJP-led government’s vision to make the ‘sunshine’ State the first in the country to have 100 per cent renewable energy. Addressing the first International Environment & Sustainability Summit in Goa, Environment Minister Nilesh Cabral appealed to the people to accept and support the government’s goals for sustainable development. “During my past tenure as the Minister for Power, I introduced a 50 per cent subsidy scheme for household consumers of solar power... We envisaged that as Goans we would be the first one to jump on, but unfortunately, we (government) did not get that kind of support (from the people),” he said, after inaugurating >Continued on P5 PANAJI A constable attached with the Indian Reserve Battallion (IRB) and his brother have been arrested for allegedly assaulting and restraining a government officer from inspecting an illegal sand mining site on Wednesday night. Senior scale officer of Goa Civil Service and Nodel Officer for illegal sand mining for North Goa District Ajay Ramchandra Gaude lodged a complaint with the Ponda Police alleging that around 10 pm on Wednesday at Velling Junction Mardol Ponda, IRB constable Heramb Velingkar and Anup Velingkar restrained him "while proceeding to carry out his lawful duties and abused him in filthy language and assaulted him." The accused are booked for offence under Sections 504 (intentional insult), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 341 (wrongful restraint) read with section 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code. Police submit fake medical certificates showing 'sick' VIBHA VERMA PANAJI A ‘notorious’ cop, facing criminal charges for assaulting his superior and still managing to get his suspension order revoked in less than a month, has taken his notoriety to the next level. The head constable is suspected to have submitted at least seven fake medical certificates to his department to avail leaves, all within a span of around two months. Not him alone, the elite Goa Police are grappling with this new trend of receiving sick leave applications based on fake certificates from government-owned hospitals – an unfortunate instance that could also drag genuine cases under the scanner. The Goan has reliably learnt that the head constable, booked for assaulting an assistant sub-inspector in March 2022 and subsequently suspended, was reinstated in the following month. The department posted him in Goa Reserve Police, Altinho on April 5, 2022, a side posting that gave him ample opportunity to skip work time and again. Adani controversy rocks Parliament; proceedings adjourned OPPOSITION DEMANDS JPC OR SC-MONITORED PROBE INTO ALLEGATIONS OF FRAUD PTI NEW DELHI Parliament was adjourned for the day on Thursday after the Opposition stalled proceedings in both houses, demanding a JPC or a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the allegations of fraud and manipulation against billionaire Gautam Adani's companies that have triggered an unprecedented stock crash. A united opposition, led by the Congress, raised the issue as soon as the houses commenced for the day with their MPs giving adjournment notices for a discussion on the issue. The chair in both the upper and lower house rejected the 13 SPORTS IRB cop, brother MODUS OPERANDI TO SKIP WORK held for assault on govt official Gold, cash burgled from Mandrem resort PANAJI: Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai has prorogued the Legislative Assembly of Goa, which was adjourned sine die on January 19, 2023 after its Third Session, of the Eighth Legislative Assembly. 9 INFO 8 JOINT TEAMS OF PANAJI POLICE, CRIME BRANCH SWUNG INTO ACTION MOVEMENT TRACKED ON SMART CITY CAMERAS MAPUSA: A teenager from Pedda-Benaulim was killed in a road mishap at Vagator on Thursday morning. The accident took place around 7.30 am when Suresh Chavan was proceeding towards St Anthony’s Hospital.   >> See pg 3 Governor prorogues Legislative Assembly RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 Valpoi lawyer arrested for Altinho court theft Minor killed in road mishap at Vagator PERNEM: Gold ornaments worth Rs 1.5 lakh and cash of Rs 45,000 were stolen from a resort in Ashvem-Mandrem in the wee hours of Wednesday.  >> See pg 3 Instagram.com/thegoaneveryday Notices rejected Parliament proceedings adjourned for the day amid ruckus over Adani controversy. notices, prompting opposition leaders to question the presiding officers on procedures and asking what could be more serious than demanding a discussion involving hardearned money of Indians in LIC and SBI invested in the Adani group stocks. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla denied the request for discussion, asking members to “not to make unsubstantiated claims” while Rajya Sabha The chair in both the upper and lower house rejected the notices, prompting opposition leaders to question the presiding officers on procedures and asking what could be more serious than demanding a discussion involving hardearned money of Indians in LIC and SBI invested in the Adani group stocks chairperson, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, rejected notices, saying they were “not in order”. Adani Group stocks have taken a beating on the bourses after the US short-seller RBI SEEKS DETAILS OF BANKS' EXPOSURE TO ADANI GROUP MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has sought details about lenders' exposures to the Adani Group, banking sources said, a day after the conglomerate withdrew the Rs 20,000-crore follow on public offer (FPO) of its flagship firm Adani Enterprises amid the steep fall in its stock prices. On Wednesday, Swiss lender Credit Suisse stopped accepting bonds by Adani group companies as collaterals for margin lending. The RBI gets access to banks' large corporate borrowers on a regular basis as part of the central repository of information on large credits (CRILC) data base, the banking sources said. Hindenburg Research made a litany of allegations last week in its report, including fraudulent transactions and share price manipulation at the Gautam Adani-led group, which has denied the charges. The market losses of the Adani Group have risen to nearly USD 103 billion (about Rs 8.5 lakh crore). Congress president and >Continued on P5 WHAT RAISED SUSPICION „„The certificates contain the names of concerned surgeons along with his/her signatures and the hospital’s rubber stamp for which the surgeons have flatly denied attending to the policemen, in whose names these certificates are issued. Conflicting outward numbers „„Diagnosis description of the patient policemen are not in medical terminology, it explains the medical condition of the policemen in layman's language „„Most of the leaves were during the visit of VVIPs including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and New Year festivities Sources said that the head constable has been irregular to work since then while his seniors are reluctant to pull him up despite knowing his reputation in the department. However, his medical certificates from Azilo Hospital raised suspicion, preliminary inquiry of which suspected its genuineness. Signatures of doctors, the hospital seal, and the diagnosis description of the policeman are now being inquired into. “He had submitted two genuine medical certificates in the past but in the recent time, these documents seem to be forged,” the source said. As per the service rule, a government employee should produce a medical certificate duly signed by a civil surgeon to avail sick leave. While the tough task is to nail partners in crime, the trend is now catching up in Goa Police. Sources said the department is in receipt of several complaints having the same modus operandi. “A verbal inquiry revealed that the concerned doctor has not issued any medical certificate to the head constable prompting the officials to report the matter to his >Continued on P5