Police on Thursday began an inquiry into the alleged harassment and
assault by police personnel of 19-year-old John Augustine Fernandes of
Gaurawaddo, Calangute.
John was allegedly beaten up at the
Calangute police station after he was picked up by police personnel from
his house on Sunday afternoon for his alleged involvement in a theft
case at a guesthouse. A senior police officer told TOI that John will be
called on Friday for his statement to be recorded and to identify the
personnel who beat him up.
At Gauravaddo, John and his mother,
Telma, have moved out of the family's small, single-room accommodation
and are residing with relatives. Locals said Telma, who supported the
family by working as a housemaid, is scared John will be further harmed
and she will be harassed, especially after her appeal to the IGP to take
action against the policemen who brutalized her son.
John's
father, Alexandre, a differently-abled, is alone at the house since
Wednesday and speaks to the constant stream of John's friends and
well-wishers. He doesn't know where his wife and son are, and doesn't
know why his child was beaten up by the police.
TOI spoke to
John and Telma telephonically on Thursday. They requested that their
current location not be revealed. Recalling what happened to him, John
said that around 12.30pm on Sunday he stepped out of his house to go to
church and from there to Margao to participate in the Carnival parade
when Calangute police turned up and "started beating me without reason".
"They then arrested me without any warrant and took me to Calangute
police station," he said, adding that the police allegedly removed his
shirt without his permission and started beating him again.
"The beating went on for around an hour; then they started asking me if I
had robbed from a guesthouse at Calangute. I said no, I pleaded with
them to stop, and I requested them to check if there was any CCTV
footage available at the guesthouse." John claimed that when the
personnel checked the CCTV footage they realized he was not in it.
He said that he managed to contact his mother, Telma, around 2pm,
"through someone who had come to the police station". Telma told TOI
that when she inquired with the police at the station about her son, she
was told he had been arrested in a theft case, was not allowed to meet
him, and was told to come back at 5pm.
Both told TOI that
before John was released at 9pm, police took an undertaking from them
that the matter is closed and the police have nothing to do with it.
Telma then took her son to the Candolim health centre where he was
referred to the Goa Medical College (GMC) and Hospital, Bambolim. She
said when her son's treatment was under way when two police personnel
from the Calangute police station arrived at GMC and the doctor later
told her to take her son home.
"I want action taken against the
guesthouse owner who named my son in the complaint, and the police
personnel involved in the case," Telma stressed to TOI.
At
Gaurawaddo, the taxi operators whose stand is at the entrance of the
narrow lane that leads to John's house, swear that the lad is no thief.
"He is a very good dancer and would take part in dance shows and
competitions to earn some money to pay for his education. He is a simple boy, we know him since his
childhood, we used to see him everyday," said a taxi driver. John, an
open school student, is suppose to appear for Class XII exams in March.
Another taxi driver added, "He is such a simple boy that he would dance
for us whenever we asked and we would give him just chocolates."
A taxi owner who took John to a private hospital on Wednesday, told
TOI, "Police are saying that he is fit; I took him to hospital on
Wednesday afternoon and he was not able to even move his hand. He was in
terrible pain."
A friend who had come to meet John at
Gaurawaddo on Thursday evening, said the youngster was part of the
group, Born to Dance, and conducted dance classes for children. "He is a
very simple boy and we cannot imagine him being involved in any crime.
He must have been framed," said the friend.
The police inquiry
is being conducted by North Goa SP Priyanka Kashyap and the report is
likely to be handed over to IGP Sunil Garg for further action.
Source: TOI,20th Feb 2015
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