St Cruz firing: 2 more arrested

Panaji: The Old Goa police Sunday arrested two more persons in connection with the Santa Cruz firing and murder case, while a minor has been sent to Apna Ghar along with two others detained earlier.

All seven accused, who were arrested on Saturday have been remanded to eight-day police custody by court on Sunday, said sources in the Old Goa police station.

Those remanded to police custody for further investigation are Marcelino Dias (35), resident of Curca-Bambolim, Ronny D’Souza (23) and Samuel D’Souza (20), both residents of St Inez, David Arauj (26), Minguel Araujo (19) and Francis Franky Nadal (23), all from Santa Cruz and David D’Souza (20) from Camarabhat.

The two, who were arrested on Sunday in connection with the murder will be produced before the court on Monday for seeking remand. In all, three minors linked to the case have been sent to Apna Ghar.

It may be noted that a member of a gang was killed after multiple gunshots were fired at the residence of a rival gang member at Ubodando in St Cruz in the wee hours of Saturday.

The deceased has been identified as Sonu Yadav (25) from Camrabhat. Police had on Saturday arrested seven men and detained two minors in connection with the case.

The firing incident had taken place after 3 am on Saturday at the residence of Imran Bepari, who escaped unhurt, police said, adding that a couple of friends who were with Bepari on the first floor of his residence retaliated with glass bottles following which the attackers fled from the scene.

Police said gang rivalry and previous enmity between the two groups are said to be the motives behind the attack.