By IANS,
Panaji : Aires Rodrigues, counsel for a 14-year-old German girl who was raped here, alleged Tuesday that Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat had given the “green signal” for the brutal attack on him on Oct 13 and had broached the matter with Congress party leader B. Hariprasad.
Addressing a press conference here, advocate Rodrigues claimed it was during a meeting at the chief minister’s official residence that Kamat gave Education Minister Atanasio Monserrate the “green signal” to attack him. Monserrate’s son Rohit is one of the accused in the rape of the girl. He surrendered to the police Tuesday.
The attack on Rodrigues took place the night before he was to accompany the mother of the German girl to the police station to register a complaint against Rohit. A gang of masked assailants attacked Rodrigues and heritage activist Prajal Sakhardande at a city hotel. While Rodrigues lost a couple of fingers as a result of the attack, Sakhardande received a cut on his head. The police subsequently arrested eight people for the attack.
“The meeting (at the chief minister’s home) happened two days before the attack. Those who were witnesses to this incident include Calangute MLA Agnelo Fernandes, Superintendent of Police Bosco George and Health Minister Vishwajeet Rane,” Rodrigues claimed.
Aires said he would call on the Goa governor Wednesday and demand that “Chief Minister Kamat be sacked for having proved to be a person with criminal intent”.
Rodrigues said that All India Congress Committee general secretary (in charge of Goa) B. Hariprasad had promised to get to the bottom of the matter.
Leader of Opposition Manohar Parrikar in a similar allegation last week has claimed that the “green signal” for the attack on Rodrigues had come from the chief minister’s residence.