PANAJI: The Merces court has granted interim anticipatory bail to Natalina Vaz and her children, Nathan and Danira Vaz, involved in a land-grabbing case under investigation by the ED. Senior advocate S. Kantak, alongside advocate P. Talaulikar, informed the court that the FIR was filed around 15 years ago, and at that time, the accused had no connections to the construction company nor were they named in the FIR.
They argued that the matter is solely a civil dispute and highlighted that they fully cooperated by providing all requested documentation to the ED.
The complaint alleges that in 2004, Fr. Arlino De Mello (accused number 1) requested the City Survey in Panaji to record the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman in the holders’ column of Form B. In 2006, accused number 2, Fr. Victor Rodrigues, acting as procurator for the Archdiocese, testified that no name was listed in Form B issued by ISLR, City Survey Panaji, regarding Chalta No. 44, PT Sheet No. 162, and requested the inclusion of the Archdiocese’s name based on relevant documentation.
An order from the then inspector of survey and land records on December 5, 2006, updated the holders’ column to include the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman, while removing tenant Tanu Gauns alias Kankonkar from the property record, which covers an area of 2,475 sqm. This complaint was filed by the son of Tanu Gauns.
In 2007, Models Group purchased the property and proceeded to construct residential units, selling the flats thereafter. Although the investigating team sought a ‘C’ Summary, the Magistrate rejected it in 2012, instructing the agency to continue their investigation.
