‘Trial will clear taint on my character’

PANAJI: The North Goa district and sessions court on Thursday ordered BJP ’s Panaji MLA Atanasio Monserrate to stand trial for allegedly raping a teenaged girl in 2016 and framed charges against him under the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act ( POCSO ) Act. The trial will begin from October 17.Monserrate, popularly known as Babush , is the first sitting MLA in Goa to face charges under POCSO. He has also been charged for rape, wrongful confinement and criminal intimidation.The survivor had alleged in May 2016 that she was drugged and raped by the then St Cruz MLA on March 6, 2016. After the complaint, Monserrate had surrendered before the crime branch and was released on conditional bail.Goa police had filed a 250-page chargesheet in July 2018 and listed 40 witnesses.While the survivor had alleged in her complaint that her mother had sold her to Monserrate for Rs 50 lakh, police did not find sufficient evidence to name her mother as an accused in the case.Charges were also framed against Rosaria alias Rosy Ferros, a resident of Caranzalem, who is accused of abetment of crime.Monserrate, who is popularly known as Babush, said the he had been living with this stigma for a long time and the trial will remove the “kalank” (taint) on his character.Referring indirectly to the late chief minister Manohar Parrikar, the Taleigao strongman said: “People who framed me are no more… I want to get rid of this case.” Police had filed a 250-page chargesheet in the alleged rape case in 2018 when Parrikar was the chief minister. Babush said ultimately, justice would prevail. “I was looking forward to the start of the trial, which has been pending for over two and a half years. For the past two years, even the charges were not framed,” he said.