Sports minister chargesheeted in 2009 rioting case

Canacona: The Canacona police on Friday filed a chargesheet in a local court against minister for sports and agriculture Ramesh Tawadkar and seven others for rioting and allegedly spiriting away two persons caught by the range forest office for trespassing, in the Cotigao wildlife sanctuary, in 2009. As per the chargesheet, Manoj Gokuldas Padwalkar and Gajanan Sada Naik, both from Karwar, were caught by the forest squad on April 26, 2009, while trespassing the Cotigao wildlife sanctuary with 37 barrels of 20-litre capacity each containing suspected liquor in their vehicle.
Their vehicle was attached by the forest department. The two were arrested at around 4:30pm for tresspass and investigation was on.
While the statement of the duo who were in their 20s then, was being recorded by the RFO Paresh Porob who had maintained a strict watch on the movement of vehicles through the sanctuary for liquor smuggling from Goa to Karwar, a mob gathered outside the RFO office at 8pm. Eight persons including Tawadkar who was then BJP MLA from Poinguinim barged into the cabin. Taking the officials by surprise, Tawadkar and seven others forcibly took away Padwalkar and Naik from the forest custody.
Later in the night a complaint was lodged at the Canacona police station against Tawadkar and others “for forcibly taking away” two accused.
Damu Nagappa Naik, Janu Fondu Tawadkar, Deepak T Gaonkar, Santosh Desai, Gajanan Sada Naik, Gokuldas Padwalkar, Manoj Padwalkar besides the minsiter have been chargesheeted under Sections 143, 147,451,353,224 and 225 read with Section 149 of the Indian Penal Code. The chargesheet has been filed before the Canacona Judicial Magistrate First Class, Sarika Faldessai.
The chargesheet comes a week after a social activist Aires Rodrigues served a legal notice on the Chief Secretary and Director General of Police demanding that Tawadkar be chargesheeted within a week as the police were dragging their feet for seven long years “in an attempt to shield the sports minister”.