An audio recording that has surfaced through certain media brings to light the larger question if the case of Swapnil Walke’s murder that occurred in Margao last week was a pre-planned killing, but according to the police investigation, it was an act of robbery that went wrong.
The audio clip is a conversation between some reporters and one person, Edson Gonsalves, whose name appeared in this case.
Through the course of the investigation, as police officials appeared to be heading in the right direction, a very unexpected twist occurred when the DGP said that ‘armed robbery has gone wrong’ was the sole motive behind the killing.
However, through the audio recording that has surfaced, it is clearly stated that the entire crime was pre-planned, with the accused even going to Bihar to purchase the gun.
In the clip, the reporters can be heard asking one, Edson Gonsalves, who states that this entire plan was put together a few months ago, however, the final date wasn’t confirmed yet then. He also adds that Mustafa Sheikh threatened others if they asked for more details about this case.
n Focus
The gun was procured from Bihar by Evander Rodrigues and Mustafa Sheikh, Edson states in the audio recording. The ‘file’ – supposedly containing information about the killing – was in possession of the accused very much in advance, and they were only waiting for commercial activities to open up before executing the crime.
The identity of the person who handed over the file however isn’t clear yet, as per Edson’s statements.
This however brings to surface different questions as far as the investigating agencies are concerned. It was earlier reported that three different teams we constituted to look into three different angles pertaining to this case – robbery, stolen gold, and planned to kill.
However, the DGP, at a press conference recently, rubbished all other claims and said that it is clear that the motive was robbery itself. He also said that other theories pertaining to disposing of the robbed gold was all rubbish and are not linked to this case.
Several inconsistencies exist; such as, why did only one gang member enter the shop, and if robbery was the motive, why wasn’t any jewellery items stolen from the shop. To this, the DGP said that there was a ‘lack of planning’ from the accused.
It is also understood that the accused conducted a very well-planned recce, and identified a pathway to find an escape after committing the crime.
Edson Gonsalves, who appears in the audio clipping is not arrested by the police as his role does not come to the fore in the investigation. Only those directly involved have been arrested, the DGP said.
The entire progress of the investigation – which until a few days ago appeared to be headed in the right direction – has taken a change of course, with many raising serious questions about the previous angles, which the police now appear to have closed doors to. A noted lawyer yesterday also raised his concerns about the case, saying that the accused may get a slip and be able to walk free if the police do not prepare a tough case against them.
