Panaji: The judicial magistrate first class court, Mapusa, granted bail to Anjuna police constable Saish Anil Parsekar (29), who was held for allegedly stealing gold ornaments worth Rs 8 lakh from a road accident victim.The court rejected the police’s plea to remand him into custody after observing that his arrest was illegal and in violation of Section 35(5) of the BNSS, which states that if a person complies with a notice of appearance, he/she shall not be arrested unless the police provide written reasons to justify it as necessary.The court directed him to appear at the police station for interrogation as and when directed by the investigating officer (IO). “The investigation agency is at liberty to re-arrest the applicant/accused if they so desire by following due process of law,” the court said.The IO told the court that Parsekar was not cooperating with the investigation and that the stolen articles needed to be recovered.The court observed that the offence was bailable and that there was nothing produced on record to justify his arrest, even though he complied with the notice.“That apart, the statement that the accused is not cooperating with the investigation is subjective. Under the Constitution, every accused has a right to remain silent, and no accused person can be compelled to be a witness against himself. Cooperation with the investigation does not mean that the accused must confess and be a puppet of the IO,” the court said.The incident is related to a road accident that occurred on Jan 25 at Anjuna, where Quepem resident Jaster Vincent Rodrigues (27) lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a tree. He sustained severe injuries and later died. The victim’s brother reported that Parsekar allegedly stole a gold bracelet, a gold kada, and a gold ring from Rodrigues at the accident scene.
