Calangute: It’s been over 30 hours since 69-year-old Arnaldo Soares was found murdered and the police have not been able to make any arrests yet.
SP (North) Akshat Kaushal said on Monday that police had formed “special teams and are looking at all angles and checking CCTV footage” to crack the murder case.
However, Candolim village has been abuzz with people expressing shock at the dastardly act and bemoaning the sad state of affairs. Those who know the family suggested that it could have been the fall-out of property disputes.
“Why would someone kill him?” an acquaintance of the family said. The Soares family were big landlords in Orda, Candolim, owning huge swathes of land on the hillside there.
According to a local, most of Soares family is scattered, with some living abroad. One of the family members residing in Candolim allegedly sold off most of the land, which now forms a large migrant colony there. The other members of the extended family then filed court cases to claim their share of the properties.
To add to the complications, most of the original buyers have resold the properties, with some of them being sold multiple times, sources said.
Arnaldo Soares, 69, was found with his throat cut on Sunday afternoon at around 1pm. According to the Candolim police, as per preliminary investigations, the assailants entered by taking off some tiles from the roof of the traditional Goan house.
A neighbour reported that at around 2.30 am on Sunday he heard some commotion from the part of the house occupied by the deceased. When they went to check, someone from inside said there was nothing to worry about. The neighbour then went away.
According to SP Akshat Kaushal, the victim could be heard screaming on CCTV footage from a neighbouring residence.
The assailants then left from the main door of the house and drove away with Soares’ car which was found abandoned at the helipad at Sinquerim.
Neighbours said Arnaldo Soares had been a resident of Canada with an OCI card. He was a bachelor.