Says he doesn’t know what custodial interrogation means
Goa Director General of Police T Mohan on Monday sought to play down Goa Police Cyber Crime Cell’s plea for ‘custodial interrogation’ of Devu Chodankar, who had allegedly posted comments on Facebook against Narendra Modi. “I do not know what that term (custodial interrogation) means,” Mohan said when asked what the term means if not arrest.
The cell had moved the court seeking custodial interrogation of accused Devu Chodankar for “recovery of cyber forensic evidence at his instance”, “establish motive of the crime” and to “find out any motive of larger game plan to promote communal and social disharmony in the State”. Subsequently, 31-year old Devu Chodanka’s anticipatory bail was rejected by a local court after a complaint was filed against him for his anti-Modi ‘holocaust’ comment on Facebook .
The DGP, however, said that Devu’s presence was necessary for questioning as part of the investigation process. “We wanted to question him,” Mohan said, keeping the word custodial out of his sentence.
The possible arrest of Chodankar had triggered an uproar on the social media as well as civil society, which alleged a witch-hunt against the Facebook user, whose comment while nonetheless being vile is harmless.
Protesters even staged a protest outside the police headquarters last week demanding to drop the charges against Devu, who, police claims, has already skipped two summonses.
Anti-Modi Facebooker: Goa top cop unclear over urgency to arrest youth
Strap: Admits he doesn’t know what custodial interrogation means
Mayabhushan n Panaji
Goa top cop was in for a major embarrassment, when he admitted that he did not know what one of his officer’s meant when he sought custodial interrogation in the case against Devu Chodankar, a ship building professional who was arrested for alleged anti-Modi remarks on Facebook.
“I do not know what that term (custodial interrogation) means,” Mohan said in the context of what his own police inspector Rajesh Joy of the Goa Police Cyber Crime cell was asking for.
The police sought the arrest, while opposing the anticipatory bail application filed by Chodankar, claiming that the “recovery of cyber forensic evidence at his instance establish motive of the crime” and he was arrested to “find out any motive of a larger game plan to promote communal and social disharmony in the State”.
Devu Chodankar (31) faced arrest after his anticipatory bail was rejected by the Principal District and Sessions Court, after a complaint was filed against him for a post on Facebook warning Goans not to vote for Modi else they would face a “holocaust”.
However, Mohan now claims that he had no knowledge that the phrase was used by the police in their appeal to the court seeking Chodankar’s arrest. The DGP however said that Devu’s presence was necessary for questioning as part of the investigation process. “We wanted to question him,” Mohan said, keeping the word custodial out of his sentence.
The urgency to arrest Chodankar, had triggered an uproar on the social media as well as civil society, which was alleged as a witch-hunt against the Facebook user, whose comment, while nonetheless being vile, is harmless.
Protesters even staged a protest outside the police headquarters last week demanding to drop the charges against Devu, who, police claims has already skipped two summons.