2 accused in Mungul assault yet to be traced, police say victims not critical

Colva: Two individuals involved in the violent armed assault at Mungul, along the Colva–Margao road, in the early hours of Tuesday, remain absconding.Police said Akshay Talwar and Rahul Talwar have not yet been traced.

Eight others have already been arrested in connection with the assault.South Goa superintendent of police (SP), Tikam Singh Verma, confirmed that Rashul Shaikh, Shahrukh Shaikh, Wilson Carvalho, Mohammad Sharif, Vassu Kumar, Suraj Maaji, Gaurang Korgaonkar, and Malik Shaikh are in custody. The judicial magistrate first class has remanded them in five days police custody.The victims, Yuvkesh Singh and his associate Rafiq Tashan, are currently undergoing treatment at the GMC, Bambolim, for injuries inflicted by swords allegedly wielded by the attackers.

Verma clarified that their condition was never critical, but that they were moved to the GMC as a precaution.In his complaint, Singh named some assailants while noting that others were masked. He alleged that the group was armed with bottles, choppers and other deadly weapons. During the attack, one assailant reportedly fired two shots in an apparent attempt to kill him. Both missed him, striking his vehicle instead.

Police recovered a live 9mm bullet from the scene, which Verma said does not appear to have been fired from a country-made weapon. The sword and firearm used in the assault have yet to be recovered.Verma noted that the complainant’s account was sketchy, prompting the police to rely on their own intelligence to track and verify the involvement of all individuals who were potentially linked to the crime.The accused individuals have been booked under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and of the Arms Act.Benaulim legislator Venzy Viegas, meanwhile, submitted a memorandum to the South Goa SP, seeking a swift, impartial, and transparent probe into the fight. He also called for enhanced patrolling in vulnerable and high-traffic areas, the adoption of intelligence-led preventive policing to identify and neutralise threats before they escalate, and the launch of community-based, trust-building initiatives to restore public confidence in the police.