PANAJI: Padma Shri awardee and pop singer Remo Fernandes was acquitted by Goa Children’s Court on Thursday for allegedly verbally abusing a minor girl from Malvan in December 2015 at a Goa Medical College ward where she was undergoing treatment after being injured in an accident allegedly caused by the singer’s son, Jonah.Activist Aires Rodrigues had file a complaint at the Agasaim police station stating that between 3pm and 4pm on December 3, 2015, Remo came to ward and abused the minor girl. Agasaim police registered an FIR against Remo in the case.The accident took place around 4pm on December 1, 2015, at Venacio Waddo in Guirim, between Porvorim and Mapusa, on NH 17. The girl was on a foot pilgrimage along with other devotees to Old Goa where she was to attend the novenas of St Francis Xavier’s feast.Remo and his son were present in court for pronouncement of judgment on Thursday. “I’ve always known I was innocent. The judgment comes as no surprise to me,” he told TOI, adding that he hoped it came “as a good surprise to some sections of the Goan media” as it was they who decided to cast doubts on his character.“A person in my position has to also be ready for people like Aires. That’s the way I look at life,” he told TOI.I have never had any blemishes in my career, said Remo, who is currently based in Portugal.He said one priest from Sindhudurg had asked him to help the girl. “He told me she was from a poor family and asked me to pay for the medical expenses.” The singer said, since the girl was at GMC and there were no hospital charges, he wanted to pay for travel, which was coming to Rs 25,000.“The family itself gave this figure to me. I offered to pay double, but then they told me it would not be enough and demanded Rs 3 lakh saying I was a celebrity,” he said.Remo has currently finished recording an album and is aiming for an international release in a year’s time. “It’s the best album I’ve ever composed and recorded,” he said.

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