HillTop Steve aka John Stephen D’Souza to be taken to Hyd as Mapusa JMFC court allows transit remand

MAPUSA: A JMFC court in Mapusa Thursday granted a two-day remand to the Hyderabad police to take John Stephen D’Souza aka Steve, owner of the popular restaurant cum club at Vagator HillTop for investigation.

The Hyderabad police have to produce D’souza before a magistrate in Hyderabad within 48 hours and he should be taken to Hyderabad only by air and not by road keeping in mind his health conditions, the Mapusa JMFC has instructed. ALSO READ: After HillTop Steve’s arrest, four more Goan restaurant/club owners could be arrested soon

A major drama straight out of a Bollywood movie played out at the JMFC court in Mapusa on Thursday afternoon where Steve was produced for the transit remand.

On Wednesday, when the Hyderabad police after arresting him with the help of the cops at the Anjuna police station took him to a local district hospital for the mandatory medical checkup, Steve fell ill and was admitted at the local Mapusa government hospital.

His legal team opposed the remand on the grounds that he was ill and unfit to travel. The court called for the medical report and adjourned the matter for Thursday.

The medical report, which was submitted to the court on Thursday mentioned that Steve was fit to travel and accordingly a two-day transit remand was granted.

This was not before Steve’s lawyers made several demands before the court like permitting his son DJ Starling to meet him to take his signatures (on a vakalatnama and other papers) and a condition that he be taken to Hyderabad only by flight and not by road. The magistrate’s court granted these requests, but Steve suddenly once again fell ill in the courtroom and could not speak properly.

He was once again taken to the Asilo hospital in an ambulance and will be kept there until the air ticket and flight arrangements are made.

He will be produced in a Hyderabad magistrate’s court on Saturday by the Hyderabad police for further remand and his lawyers are expected to pray for bail based on his health issues.

D’souza’s lawyers also demanded a copy of the F.I.R, which the court obliged. Normally, in the case of lesser mortals, the copy of the F.I.R would have to be obtained from the concerned Hyderabad magistrate’s court and the Hyderabad cops would have gone by the book and refused to share the F.I.R copy with the accused.

Curlies restaurant owner Edwin Nunes who has also been named as an accused, has meanwhile applied for anticipatory bail in a Hyderabad court in the same case.