Special CBI court in Mapusa soon

PANAJI: A special CBI court will be set up in Mapusa soon.
Senior officials at the state secretariat said the state government has already bought the premises (in a building) and has also sanctioned eight staff for the court. Only the appointment of the judge, to be done by the Bombay High Court, is awaited.
The court, being set up on directions of the central government, is expected to reduce the pendency of cases presently being heard in various courts across the state.
CBI SP Prem Kumar, when contacted, confirmed that there will be a special CBI court at Mapusa.
He said there are 70 cases at various stages of hearing and some have been pending for a few years now as local courts already have their own backlog of criminal and civil matters.
"The CBI court will definitely help to reduce the pendency of cases," said Kumar.
The CBI is currently investigating 10 cases. The better known are three police-drug mafia nexus cases, handed over to the CBI two years ago on directions of the high court, and the rape of a seven-year-old girl in the toilet of her school in Vasco on January 14 this year.
This case was handed over to the CBI recently as the state police and crime branch have yet to trace the culprit or even make any headway in the case. The school headmistress was arrested for allegedly destroying evidence as the staff had washed the girl and cleaned the toilet after the incident.