Goa minister Atanasio Monserrate acquitted in 2016 rape case
Panaji (PTI): A special court in Goa on Wednesday acquitted BJP MLA and minister Atanasio Monserrate in a rape case registered against him nearly a decade ago.
Monserratte, who holds the revenue portfolio, was booked in 2016 for allegedly raping a minor.
Special Judge Irshad Agha has now acquitted the minister of all charges.
As per the FIR registered by the Goa police, a minor girl had alleged that she was sold to then St Cruz MLA Monserratte who drugged and raped her.
Initially, the case was registered against the minister under the Goa Children’s Act. Later, the charge was dropped and sections under the Indian Penal Code were invoked after an ossification test indicated that she was above 16 years of age.
The case was tried before the district court after the police filed a 250-page chargesheet against him. A total of 40 witnesses were examined during the trial.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
