Pacheco aide alleges witch-hunt on to shield politician’s son

PANAJI - The police “witch-hunt” against the Goa’s former tourism minister Mickky Pacheco is a fallout of his demand to investigate the involvement of a senior politician’s son in Goa’s notorious drug nexus, Pacheco’s aide said Friday.

In a petition filed before the Panaji bench of the Bombay High Court, Lyndon Monteiro, an officer on special duty (OSD) to the tourism ministry, claimed that a letter by Pacheco to Chief Minister Digambar Kamat earlier this week seeking a probe against the minister’s son had irked cabinet colleagues, who were trying to save the senior politician linked to the drugs mafia.

“The same was not liked by the other cabinet colleagues who are trying to cover up and save the said politician’s son, as is also evident from the recent statements made by chief minister himself,” the petition said.

“Recently Fransisco (Mickky) Pacheco, in his capacity as tourism minister, had written a letter to the chief minister about rampant use of drugs in Goa, and the police and political nexus with the drug dealers and its affect on tourism,” says the petition, which will come up for hearing next week.

Police have already booked Pacheco for culpable homicide and destruction of evidence, in connection with the death of his 28-year-old lover Nadia Torrado. Monteiro has also been named as an accused in the case, which has been the talking point in Goa for the last two weeks.

Torrado allegedly consumed rat poison and died fifteen days later at a Chennai hospital.

A local court has already rejected the anticipatory bail applications of both Pacheco and Monteiro.