Cops to close Cipriano death caseMurari Shetye <http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toireporter/author-Murari-Shetye.cms>Murari Shetye,TNN | Jan 18, 2015, Panaji: The crime branch of Goa police have approached the court seeking permission to close the alleged Cipriano Fernandes custodial death case citing lack of evidence.
Crime branch has filed 'A' summary report before the chief juridical magistrate court in the case. The investigation was conducted by crime branch deputy superintendent of police (DySP) Sammy Tavares. It submitted documents to the court seeking closure of the case as there was no sufficient evidence to file a chargesheet against the accused. Crime branch has recorded the statements of 229 persons before seeking court's permission to close the case. The 38-year-old seafarer, Cipriano Fernandes, was picked up by the Panaji police from his aunt's residence in Porvorim on the evening of January 7, 2011. He was placed under detention as a 'preventive measure'; after his girlfriend complained that he threatened her with a knife at her house in Caranzalem. He died at the Goa Medical College (GMC) and Hospital on January 9, 2011, two days after he was arrested by the Panaji police, due to a head injury. On the same day unnatural death case was registered at Panaji police station and SDM was intimated to conduct inquiry in the custodial death case. On January 10, 2011, postmortem was conducted at the GMC, while the cause of death was not made public, the viscera was preserved for histopathology examination. Based on the SDM's report, on February 10, 2011, the crime branch had registered a case of destruction of evidence against all the Panaji police personnel who were on duty from 10.30pm on January 7, 2011, to 11.55am on January 8, 2011, when Fernandes was in police custody. Subsequently, Goa police suspended then Panaji police station PI Sandesh Chodankar, PSI Radesh Ramnathkar and head constable Sandip Shirvoikar. Last year Goa police revoked the suspension of three police officers. On November 7, 2012, 22 months after he allegedly died a custodial death, Cipriano Fernandes' body was finally laid to rest at Moira in the local church. Following pressure from Fernandes' family, NGOs and public, the state government had recommended the CBI takeover the investigation in the case, which was turned down by the CBI.
