Caught in a web of sex, lies and cover-ups By Nisser Dias nisserdias at gmail.com SMS to 9422437029
It is exactly two months today, since the Torrado family from Lotoulim were drawn into a saga of misery and grief with young girl Nadia Torrado consuming poison to end her life for reasons, which the police attached to Crime Branch are still trying to piece together. The victim finally succumbed to the deadly ratol, 29th May. Her death is being linked to her intimate relationship with former Tourism minister Mickky Pacheco. Upon her death he persistently tried to circumvent law at every stage, using political clout and money power, using loopholes in the law and also by using professionals of two noble professions or rather vocations – Teachers and Doctors.
Mickky, in his own disclosure to Supreme Court has admitted that he was in intimate relationship with the deceased at the time of her resorting to end her life. The moment the disgraced legislator realized the consequences he would have to face, he moved all his money power and political connection to save her life, beginning from discharging her from a super specialty hospital in Goa to admit her in a hospital in Thane to keep her away from the local media glare and then airlifting her to Chennai in a chartered air ambulance for liver transplant.
But at the back of his mind, he knew his world, of living in arrogance, using and discarding women at will, abusing law was crumbling around him and thus he set about to thwart the process of law and justice. He arranged for special magistrate to record the statement of the victim in Thane in his presence.
It is alleged that he directed the grieving mother of the deceased – a teacher by profession to destroy evidence and even tutored her to tell the investigation agencies and the media that her daughter had consumed ratol thinking it was toothpaste. An explanation which even layman has not accepted. There is evidence that has come on record that huge amounts of money being offered, accepted for this alleged act of destruction of evidence and tutored statements. The ultimate result of this unholy cohesion between a teacher and a politician led to the resignation of a good teacher, who has been my class teacher.
Yes, I agree that there will be questions like if she was a good teacher, how come she failed to be a good mother. Of course I can’t answer this question, but all I can say the daughter was an adult. Then another query pops into my mind, why is she shielding Mickky and not shedding light on the incident, I can’t answer that too, but I trust the Crime Branch to reveal that and bring the culprits whosoever it might be to justice.
Nadia breathed her last on 29th May 2010 and the family was in a mighty hurry to perform the final rites without completing legal formalities in Goa. The Crime Branch wanted possession of two mobile SIMs and a laptop used by the deceased, but all crucial items had mysteriously disappeared. As the heat was building up, former Tourism minister tried to divert attention by demanding judicial enquiry into the death of his family friend at the same time CBI enquiries into the Excise scam and drug nexus involving politicians-police and drug dealers, here too he failed.
Mickky was finally summoned by the investigating agency on 4th June and questioned at length. It is here he realized that the noose was tightening around his neck and went underground, thereby bringing the investigation to a grinding halt. However his attempts to secure anticipatory bail even at the highest court in the country were frustrated by the judiciary.
But here in Goa public prosecutor Sarojini Sardinha has to be complimented, who foiled all attempts by the accused to seek bail. She was resolute and argued without fear of political backlash against various bail applications and made the courts realize the gravity of the crime and more importantly attempts made by the minister using his powers to cover up the dastardly act.
Mickky Pacheco had admitted to the media about his philandering ways, but in the death of 27 year old Nadia, he was caught in the web of sex, lies and assaults. Realizing his days were numbered and there was no way he could escape the noose, he was like a drowning man catching at straws. He tried his last trick in his bag and that is feigning sickness. Politicians caught in corruption, sex scandals and other illegal activities have developed a knack for instantly falling sick and developing chest pains, high pressure. It even happened with Aldona MLA Dayanand Narvekar when he was implicated in the ticket gate.
When Supreme Court rejected Mickky’s anticipatory bail application, he surrendered before the Sessions court in Margao and then got himself admitted in Hospicio. Allegedly, he used his former cabinet and now defunct G7 colleague to get admission and even overwrite noting on his medical certificates. Public prosecutor Sarojini Sardinha again thwarted the attempts of Mickky and some doctors to keep him hospitalized by pointing to the anomalies like ‘no date’, overwriting on the medical certificate and urged the judge to constitute a medical panel to examine Mickky.
That the medical board’s observation that accused Mickky did not want in-house treatment and can be discharged exposed a can of worms existing in the medical fraternity. And Dr. Oscar Rebello who was once in government service spilled all the beans by stating they have to issue certificates under political pressure. It is good that the champion of scrapping of regional plan 2011 opened up, but it would have been credible for Dr. Oscar to stand up against this practice while he was a government doctor.
Be that as it may, irregularities by medical doctors have been endorsed by its own fraternity and Goa Medical Council should initiate against the erring doctors who buckle under the dictat from politicians. And issuance of a medical letter with no date and overwriting to facilitate an accused charged with culpable homicide is good enough to start with. But since this body too has been packed with political appointees, we can expect nothing at all.
All in all, Crime Branch should not restrict its investigation to only Mickky Pacheco, Lyndon Monteiro or the family members of the deceased but cast its net wide to probe also those who tried to assist them to circumvent law and justice. (ENDS)
====================================================== First published in Gomantak Times, Goa - July 15, 2010 * * * UK STOCKS EXHAUSTED! After a community-supported launch at Croydon, Selma Carvalho's *Into the Diaspora Wilderness* is available at Broadways Book Centre, Panjim [Ph +91-9822488564] Price (in Goa only) Rs 295. Ask a friend to pick up a copy. Details of the book http://selmacarvalho.squarespace.com/ * * *
