Panaji, July 15: Senior Congress leader and Aldona MLA Carlos Alvares Ferreira has raised serious concerns following the discharge of three of the four accused (with one accused still absconding) in the murder case of Morjim- Pernem resident Umakant Khot by the Additional Sessions Judge, North Goa.

In a statement, Ferreira questioned how the court found insufficient material to frame charges against the accused. He asked whether the outcome was the result of a deliberate attempt to give the accused a clean chit or whether it reflected inefficiency and incompetence on the part of the police during the investigation. He also questioned whether the charge sheet had been properly scrutinised and approved by the Director of Prosecution before it was filed in court.

Ferreira said the case must also be viewed from the perspective of the discharged accused. If they were genuinely innocent, he questioned why they were arrested, denied bail and made to spend several months in jail. He asked whether they had been implicated merely to pacify the victim’s family and the people of Goa following the murder.

At the same time, Ferreira pointed out that if the accused were actually involved in the crime, then a faulty investigation may have allowed them to escape prosecution. He expressed concern that such lapses could undermine the criminal justice system.

Highlighting the impact on the discharged accused, Ferreira said their incarceration may have caused irreparable damage to their reputation, social standing, business interests and personal lives. He also referred to the mental and physical suffering they may have endured during their imprisonment.

Describing personal liberty as a sacrosanct fundamental right guaranteed under the Constitution, Ferreira said no individual should be deprived of liberty without cogent evidence and sufficient legal justification. He stressed that if innocent persons were wrongfully arrested and incarcerated, the investigating agency must be held accountable for its actions.

Ferreira further recalled that Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant had assured stern action against those responsible for Umakant Khot’s murder. In light of the court’s order discharging the accused, he questioned what had become of that assurance and asked whether public confidence in the police was eroding.

He said the government and the police must answer whether they are accountable for what he described as a serious miscarriage of justice if persons not involved in the crime were arrested and imprisoned.