Nadia death case: Pacheco OSD's bail rejected

The anticipatory bail of Lyndon Monteiro, Officer on Special Duty, to former Goa Tourism Minister Fransisco Pacheco, was on Wednesday rejected by a local court in Panjim.

The sessions court rejected the bail plea of Monteiro, who was summoned by the police on June 6 in connection with the death of Pacheco's "close" female friend 28-year-old Nadia Torrado, who allegedly committed suicide by consuming poison on May 30.

Nadia was admitted to a local hospital after she allegedly consumed poison and later shifted to a hospital in Thane, Mumbai before being transferred to a private hospital in Chennai where she died.

Monteiro, a close aide of Pacheco has been missing since he was served the summons by the Crime Branch in the case. The OSD, also the vice chairman of Goa Tourism Development Corporation, had said except for a professional relationship, he was not concerned with the Nationalist Congress Party leader, who had resigned from the Cabinet on June 5 after his name cropped up in the death case.

Monteiro, along with Pacheco, are suspected to have destroyed vital evidence related to the death of Nadia. The 46-year-old lawmaker, who has been missing since Friday after Crime Branch grilled him for nearly nine hours in the case, had on Tuesday moved the anticipatory bail application in the sessions court through his lawyer.

Pacheco is a prime suspect in the case and police have registered a case of culpable homicide against unknown persons, the Crime Branch had said on Tuesday.