Panaji, Jan 8 (TOI): Goa children's court on Thursday granted pop star and Padma Shri awardee Remo Fernandes conditional anticipatory bail in the case of alleged verbal abuse of a minor girl by the singer on the grounds that there is no prima facie material on record against him. The minor was a victim in an accident involving Remo's son, Jonah.
The court had directed Remo to deposit his passport with the investigation officer till the chargesheet is filed.
In her statement, the children's court president, Vandana Tendulkar, observing that there was no dispute over the fact that the antecedents of the applicant are clear, said that there was also no likelihood of the applicant repeating a similar crime. "In any case, the evaluation of the entire material available against the applicant reveals that his role was limited to the extent of verbal abuse and as such there appears no justified purpose of his custodial interrogation," she said. For custodial interrogation arrest is a basic requirement.
Observing that the complaint does not reveal the actual abusive words Remo allegedly used, Tendulkar said that going by statements of the victim and other witnesses it is understood that Remo said that it would be better if she were dead and that this was said during Remo's visit to the applicant at Goa Medical College.
"The complainant (social activist Aires Rodrigues) on the other hand has tweeted that the applicant has not even cared to visit the victim girl at the GMC," she said, observing that this in itself was contrary to statements of the victim and witnesses.