Goa Court Cancels Bail of AAP's Amit Palekar in Fatal Banastarim Accident Case

A Goa court has canceled the bail of AAP's Goa unit chief, Amit Palekar, in connection with the Banastarim accident that killed three people on August 6, 2023. The court cited violations of bail conditions as the basis for the cancellation. Palekar is required to surrender immediately.

A Goa court on Monday revoked the bail of Aam Aadmi Party's state unit chief Amit Palekar in the 2023 Banastarim accident, which resulted in the deaths of three individuals.

A senior police official confirmed that Palekar must surrender immediately and will be taken into custody following the court's directive.

On August 6, 2023, a speeding Mercedes car collided with multiple vehicles on Banastarim bridge, resulting in three fatalities. The Crime Branch had previously arrested Palekar for allegedly tampering with evidence and trying to present a decoy driver to shield the main accused, Paresh Sawardekar.

The additional sessions court in Ponda cancelled his conditional bail, initially granted by the additional district court.

The Crime Branch had requested the bail cancellation, claiming Palekar violated conditions by traveling to countries other than France, which contradicted the court's permission.

Defending Palekar, his lawyer argued that the court's approval was for foreign travel without specific restrictions to France.

The court, siding with the Crime Branch's application, annulled Palekar's conditional bail on Monday.

The accident occurred on the Ponda-Panaji highway, approximately 15 kilometers from the state capital, at 7:30 pm on August 6. The luxury car hit three cars, a motorcycle, and a scooter. Sawardekar, the primary accused and a supermarket chain owner, was apprehended for offenses including culpable homicide not amounting to murder, rash driving, and drunk driving.

(With inputs from agencies.)