Pernem: The Additional Sessions Court at Mapusa on Tuesday rejected the anticipatory bail applications filed by the Arpora sarpanch Roshan Redkar and the suspended secretary Raghuvir Bagkar in connection with the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub fire incident of December 6 in which 25 people lost their lives. The court also refused to grant a stay on the order in the case.
The court had heard final arguments of both sides on December 23 and had extended interim relief to the duo until December 30. After considering the submissions, the court declined to grant anticipatory bail.
Opposing the applications, public prosecutor J Santamaria argued that both the sarpanch and the secretary had failed to carry out proper verification before granting the trade licence. He submitted that the application mentioned only the survey number and did not specify the structure. He further pointed out that no power of attorney was submitted by the owner of the club at the time the application was processed.
The prosecution contended that both applicants had committed irregularities while granting permission and highlighted that alterations were made in the application using different colour ink, raising serious questions over the procedure followed.
After hearing the arguments from both sides, the court had reserved the matter for orders on December 30 and subsequently rejected the plea for anticipatory bail and the request for a stay.
