The Works

| 2002 |

Was Tanuja at wrong place, wrong time?

Was 24-year-old Tanuja K Naik at the wrong place and at the wrong time, when she was fatally wounded by a single bullet while returning from work on Monday evening?

The possibility that Tanuja may have been accidentally shot barely 300 metres from her house at Parampai-Marcaim, now seems a strong link, with senior police officials almost ruling out robbery and love-affair as motives behind the shooting.

Deputy Inspector General of Police Karnal Singh, North Goa SP Muktesh Chander, Ponda DySP D K Sawant, Police Officer Naresh Mhamal and a police team visited the site this morning, as they attempted to retrace what might have taken place at about 5.30 pm on Monday.

A significant discovery was the presence of an empty cartridge, which was found at the scene of the crime. The cartridge will be sent for a test to ascertain if it was fired from the gun which killed Tanuja. Police had earlier found a cartridge on Tuesday morning.

However, in the absence of conclusive evidence, police has registered a case of murder under Section 302 IPC and illegal possession of arms.

Speaking to Herald at the Ponda Sub Division Police Office shortly after returning from the scene of crime, DIG Karnal Singh said robbery as a motive for the killing was almost ruled out, but declined to divulge the angle which the police was taking to ascertain the motive of the crime.

“Motive of robbery is almost ruled out due to a number of reasons. First, there was no resistance or struggle by the victim and there were no injuries on the body of the deceased to suggest this,” explained DIG Singh.

Police investigations also revealed that the shot was fired from a minimum distance of 2 metres as the carbon residue — normally discharged from the gun the moment the bullet is fired — was not present on the body of the deceased.

The vertical trajectory of the bullet, passing from the shoulder area to the abdomen of the deceased, also made robbery an unlikely motive, added the police official.

“Presuming there was no struggle, a gun shot would normally have been horizontal, either towards the chest or abdomen,” noted DIG Singh.

Going by the statement of the only eye-witness who noticed the assailant fleeing after shooting Tanuja, police tried to map the location of the witness when the shot was fired.

“It took the witness a good one minute to reach the victim. If roughly calculated, he was at least 200 metres away when he heard the gun shot,” said DIG Singh.

It seems unlikely that the witness could have observed the actual scene of events at that distance, the DIG added.

To a query that a gold chain and a tiffin were missing when the incident took place, DIG Singh informed that the family of the deceased could not confirm whether the gold chain was worn by Tanuja when the incident took place.

“It’s also possible that the victim might not have even known that she was a target,” suggested DIG Singh.

Incidentally, the sound of gun shots is not an unusual feature in certain parts of Parampai-Marcaim.

According to villagers, shooting of pigs during hunting is a common feature in the area, which is covered with dense trees and shrubs.

While there are three licenced guns in the area, sources added there are many unlicenced country-made guns in operation, making the task difficult for Ponda police to tally the recovered cartridges with the actual gun which was fired at Tanuja.

Police has also sought the assistance of cartridge dealers in Goa and Belgaum, hoping to identify the bullets.

Ponda police had earlier ruled out a love-affair which might have led to Tanuja’s death and this also seems to have been corroborated when Herald visited the Top Brass factory at the Marcaim Industrial Estate, where Tanuja was employed for the past three years.

“Like most of the 40-odd women employed from in and around Marcaim, Tanuja was an assembly technician at the factory, which manufactures locks for Godrej,” explained Reginald D`Souza, manager of Top Brass factory.

Describing her as one of the best assembly technicians in the unit, D‘Souza said Tanuja was a confirmed employee, as she was reliable, hardworking and good at her job.

Dismissing the possibility of any love affair, the manager confirmed that Tanuja had never received any phone calls, nor did anyone ever come to meet her in the factory.

“I would have been the first person to have noticed this, since all calls first come to me,” asserted D`Souza.

Statements recorded from employees at the unit this morning also did not suggest the element of love-affair as a motive of the kiling, informed PI Naresh Mhamal.

Stating that all employees worked as a close knit team, D‘Souza said the morale of the staff was extremely low since the tragic death of Tanuja.

“The unit was closed for two days after Tanuja was killed, due to the tension at the Marcaim Industrial Estate. When the factory re-opened yesterday, the staff were quite emotional and found it difficult to accept the fact that Tanuja was no longer with them,” explained D`Souza.

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