Residents of a Goa village have come together to socially boycott BJP MLA Ramrao Dessai and his family, who are alleged to be involved in a murder case. The residents of Xelvona and neighbouring areas took the decision after Ramrao’s brother Rajesh Dessai was arrested as the main accused for the murder of one Samir Malpari, who was employed as a driver with the family. Three others accused in the case are Balesh Dessai, Vinay Dessai and police constable Srikrishna Dessai.

The police say Malpari was drugged, killed and his body thrown into the Zuari river after tying weights to it.

A resolution passed by the villagers recently said the members of the Dessai family would not be allowed to enter the village temple. It said the villagers were fed up with the terror tactics of the Dessais who had taken up mining in a big way, especially after Ramrao entered politics as a BJP legislator.

Malpari, 24, was killed after he allegedly tried to blackmail the Dessais, who were involved in another murder case. The Dessais had allegedly hired some hitmen to shoot Mariano Mascarenhas from the same village. Mascarenhas was a mining contractor and a business rival to the Dessai brothers. The police allege that Mascarenhas, who had survived an earlier bid on his life, was shot dead by Srikrishna inside a bar.