Mapusa: The Additional Sessions Court at Mapusa on Tuesday heard final arguments on the anticipatory bail applications of Arpora sarpanch Roshan Redkar and then panchayat secretary Raghuvir Bagkar, who is under suspension, in connection with the December 6 fire incident at Arpora that claimed 25 lives, and reserved its order for December 30. The court extended interim relief to the duo till that date.
During the hearing, senior advocate Nitin Sardesai, appearing for the sarpanch, said the trade licence issued to Birch by Romeo Lane was a collective decision of the panchayat and not the decision of the sarpanch alone.
Counsel for the then secretary Raghuvir Bagkar said his client was not directly involved in the incident, as the decision to grant the trade licence was taken by the panchayat during a fortnightly meeting.
Opposing the applications, Public Prosecutor Advocate J Santamaria said both the sarpanch and the secretary failed to undertake proper verification before granting the trade licence. He said only the survey number was mentioned in the application form, with no reference to the structure, and there was no power of attorney produced for the club owner at the time of application.
Meanwhile, the Mapusa court also heard final arguments on the bail application of Bharat Singh Kohli, who was arrested by Anjuna police in connection with the same fire incident, and fixed December 26 for orders.
