Nadia death case: SC rejects Pacheco's bail plea

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected former Goa tourism minister Francisco Mickey Pacheco and his close aide Lyndon Monteiro anticipatory bail pleas in the Nadia Tarrado death case. Both are accused in the case registered following the death of 28-year-old Nadia, who passed away after allegedly consuming poison on May 30 in Chennai.

Monteiro's bail plea was rejected on the ground that that Pacheco has political clout and he might try to tamper with evidence and added that custodial interrogation of the former minister was necessary to recover the cell phone. Pacheco had moved the SC seeking anticipatory bail in connection Nadia's death.

According to a PTI report, a bench of Justices R M Lodha and A K Patnaik has rejected the plea of the former minister that he was not involved in the murder even though he had a relationship with the deceased Nadia.

The apex court said that besides the fact that Pacheco was a influential political leader, the post-mortem report had indicated that the deceased had 13-14 contusion marks on various parts of her body, PTI added.

Earlier, the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court had on June 21 rejected the anticipatory bail plea of Pacheco. It had also turned down the bail plea of Monteiro on technical grounds. The bench, while rejecting the bail plea, had said the offence was of serious nature and custodial interrogation was required in the case.

Police have charged Pacheco with culpable homicide while Monteiro has been accused of destroying evidence. Police claimed that Nadia's body had 14 bruise marks which were noticed during the post-mortem conducted on her body in Chennai soon after her death.

Monteiro's bail plea was rejected on the ground that his counsel did not bring on the record the fact that he had withdrawn his anticipatory bail plea from the High Court on an earlier occasion after he was asked to remain present in person.

The sessions court in Margao had earlier rejected the anticipatory bail pleas of Pacheco and Monteiro.