Goa: Police oppose anticipatory bail plea by Zenito Cardozo

PANAJI: Goa police on Monday opposed the anticipatory bail application filed before the district court by history sheeter Zenito Cardozo of Santa Cruz. The court will likely hear the case on Tuesday. Even as police tried to find Cardozo at his house, he was not traceable. The case pertains to the recent shootout at the house of Imran Bepari at Santa Cruz.
North Goa SP Utkrisht Prasoon said that Cardozo is wanted in an alleged conspiracy behind the attempt to murder.“We have opposed the granting of bail to Cardozo,” Prasoon said, adding that the force’s reply has been submitted to the court. He also declined to provide further details, claiming that any information released at this point “will go in favour of Cardozo”.
The June 20 shootout in Santa Cruz seems to have had its roots in rival gang members’ affection for one woman. Police had said that two men from different gangs had their eye on the same woman, and regularly issued threats to each other before things went out of hand over the weekend. “During our investigation, we found that Cardozo has a role in the conspiracy,” Prasoon said.
Cardozo was involved in several cases over the years like murder, attempt to murder, gang wars and extortion. In 2013, he was detained under the stringent National Security Act, before being granted bail by the high court of Bombay at Goa.
In the wee hours of June 20, ten masked persons went to the house of Bepari, and the scuffle ended in the death of one Sonu Yadav, originally from Uttar Pradesh, who was shot in the chest. Prasoon said that 20 persons have so far been arrested in the case, and three juveniles have been sent to Apna Ghar.
The Bepari faction, led by his brother, had earlier met the accused persons and had verbally sparred on the issue, an altercation that later spiralled into full-blown enmity. A senior police officer had said that prior to the attack, the groups traded barbs on video, sending these files over mobile apps. Interestingly, police had said that the accused aren’t from one specific group but belong to two-three different groups.