Remo Fernandes granted anticipatory bail in 'verbal abuse' case

Panaji: Pop singer Remo Fernandes was on Thursday granted anticipatory bail by Goa Children’s Court in connection with the case against him of allegedly verbally abusing a minor girl after she was hit by his son’s car. Judge Vandana Tendulkar granted anticipatory bail to the 62-year-old singer, who has also been asked to appear before the investigating officer for ten days starting from tomorrow, from 10 am to 1 pm. He has also been asked to furnish a bail bond of Rs 50,000 and surrender his passport till a chargesheet is filed in connection with the case. Social activist Aires Rodrigues had filed the complaint against Remo for allegedly verbally abusing the 17-year-old girl at Goa Medical College and Hospital where she was admitted after allegedly being hit by a car driven by his son Johan on 2 December last year. [caption id=“attachment_2574476” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Remo Fernandes. File photo. AFP[/caption] Last month, Remo had sought anticipatory bail from the Goa Children’s Court in connection with the case. In the bail plea, the singer claimed that he is innocent and is being falsely implicated in the case. The bail application, filed by his lawyer Rajiv Gomes, states that the singer is a native of Goa, but has acquired Portuguese nationality and presently possesses a Portuguese passport. It says that he also has business interests in Goa and India, and therefore there can be no apprehension of the applicant absconding and not attending the trial. The singer also said that he had met the girl in Goa Medical College on December 3 after the accident, and as per her demand offered to pay Rs 50,000 for treatment and travel. “But to the horror and surprise, the younger sister of the injured (girl) in a very rude and impolite manner, began demanding that the singer should pay nothing short of Rs 3 lakh at the moment,” the petition submitted. “When he asked her why she is demanding so much, her reply was ‘because you have prestige’,” claims the plea. PTI