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Rama Implicates Rohan Khaunte
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Rama Implicates Rohan Khaunte

Cover Story October 4, 2025 , by

By GO Correspondent

A source said cops refused to include the tourism minister’s name as suspect, without evidence of his involvement, in the activist Rama Kankonkar’s statement

While recording his statement with the police, activist Rama Kankonkar suspected the involvement of the Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte in his attack by goons on September 18 but the police declined to include the name the minister without any proof.
On the eve of the Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to Goa, the police rushed late night on October 2 to record the statement of Kankonkar after he was reportedly declared medically fit by GMC doctors.
Many claim it could have been done hurriedly to avoid any embarrassment to Shah. Kankonkar’s five-page statement, taken after a fortnight of his brutal attack, took over three hours to be documented due to his poor health.
The suddenness with which the police moved to record the statement took Kankonkar by surprise. It was filed in the presence of his lawyer.
Giving the account of his assault, the activist is reported to have told the police of caste-based abuse being hurled at him by the assailants while he was beaten up with chains and batons.
He is said to have further stated his attackers threatened him not to defame “our MLA” and mocked him for being “Goencho Rakhandar (protector of Goa).”
According to media reports, the activist claimed Kankonkar became a target following his involvement in the protest against the demolition of Dev Khapreshwar temple and uprooting of a 200-year-old banyan tree for the six-lane elevated corridor being built in Porvorim.
Meanwhile, TCP Minister Vishwajit Rane publicly announced Kankonkar will be provided best medical care and would not be discharged from the government hospital without his and his family’s consent.
The demand for an impartial investigation into the case to track down the mastermind of Kankorkar’s assault has grown louder by the day. It is not clear whether his statement will hasten it or weaken it.
In an attempt at damage control, the YouTube channel Goa News Hub put out a fake report claiming Kankonkar had denied that there was any mastermind. The social media handle is managed by Rupesh Sawant, former journalist and PR manager of Khaunte.
Goa News Hub claimed Rama had attributed to old enmity, citing a clash between one of the accused Minguel Araujo and him early this year.
This forced Rati Kankonkar – wife of the activist – to break her silence and strongly refute the fake news that had gone viral.
She confirmed the provocation, as recorded in Kankonkar’s statement, was the demolition of the temple in Porvorim. Khaunte had part of the temple demolished as it came in the way of his project.
Rati made a strong appeal asking her husband’s fans not to be misled by fake news spread by a section of mainstream and social media.
She put out video refuting all reports about her husband telling the police his attack was motivated by personal enmity. In the same video, she urged the news media to stop reporting fake news, which could weaken Kankonkar’s case.
(Contd box on page 17)

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