Panaji (Goa): Principal Sessions and District Court has adjourned the hearing in social activist Aires Rodrigues’ anticipatory bail plea to December 11. The court has said that the crime branch should reschedule the summons issued to him for next week but refused to grant him any interim relief.

Rodrigues is accused of sexual harassment by a woman, who was allegedly linked by him to State Minister Vinod Paliencar.

The Crime Branch taking strong objection to the anticipatory bail has said that the crime is evil in nature.

Opposing the anticipatory bail plea, Crime Branch’s Police Inspector Dattaguru Sawant has said that the “present crime is evil in nature as the accused applicant has outraged the modesty of a woman and also defamed her in the society by virtue of the act of the accused applicant despite being a lawyer.”

Sawant has told the Court that the accused has not cooperated with the investigating agency and also avoided to appear on the time mentioned in the notice for appearance.

The Crime Branch has said that the investigation in this case is at preliminary stage and interrogation, search and recovery has to be carried out.

The investigating officer also said that the application for anticipatory bail is not maintainable as they are probing a cognizable offence.