Goa minister Pacheco quits, in hiding

Strong evidence of abetment to suicide in Nadias death: Police

But the drama in the case continued as the controversial and abrasive MLA went underground, apprehending an arrest. Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat said Pacheco had been asked to step down by Pawar because of the allegations against him, and his resignation had been accepted.

The police said there was strong evidence of abetment to suicide in Nadia’s death, and Pacheco was needed for further questioning. “The very fact we have filed a case under Section 306 shows there are pointers to abetment of  suicide,” DySP Atmaram Deshpande told Deccan Herald. He also said a lookout notice had been put out against the MLA who is untraceable.

Nadia died on May 29 at Apollo Hospitals, Chennai, from post-operative complications after a liver transplant. She had been flown out of Goa by the NCP MLA for treatment first to Mumbai and then to Chennai, after a suicide attempt on May 15. The police said Pacheco signed the Goa hospital admission forms.

Four years into her marriage with Winston Barreto, Nadia filed for a divorce from her husband in October 2008. Her husband contested the divorce and blamed Pacheco for ruining their marriage.

In a curious twist to the case, Barreto and Nadia’s mother Sonia Torrado closed ranks after the young woman’s death and complained that they were being harassed by the police. Nadia had consumed poison by mistake, pleading for closure, insisting that no one was to be blamed for her death, they alleged.

In a related development, the crime branch questioned the family again on Saturday.