Goa officially plunged into the depths of macabre brutality, perpetrated by men-in-uniform. The chilling reality of the massacre of prisoners at so called Colvale ‘correction’ home would have probably been buried in the crevices of one of the prison cells, if ten under trials in NDPS cases had not spoken up in front of the NDPS judge at Mapusa.
While the assault on ten of them is bad enough, it is now certain that this was no ordinary beating of a few foreign nationals by rogue jail guards. This was a planned orchestrated exercise, which was hardly in the nature of a college ragging. This was a criminal assault and jail guards and officials responsible either directly, indirectly or even by abetting it with their silence should be charged and punished. The superintendent has been suspended. But that isn’t enough. He was not alone. His superiors need to be grilled on how a jail superintendent had the guts to carry out this human rights massacre with such impunity.
The manner of assault on prisoners was heinous. Prisoners were called in batches and then singled out for attention. Each inmate was handpicked by a jail guard and beaten senselessly with one common purpose, cause maximum injury. This was no prank. This was a murder attempt carried out under the watchful and strict supervision of the now suspended Jail Superintendent Melvyn Vaz.
It is even more bizarre that it has been a little over two months since this new ‘corrective home’ aimed at reforming the prison experience, was started. The space and facilities and comfort (if that exists at all in jails) are of little consequence if the human beings supposed to run the prison behave like wild beasts charging on their prey. The manner in which the prisoners were almost killed showed design. And this wasn’t ordinary desperation. It is significant to note that 72 under-trials from the SADA sub jail and 49 from the Mapusa sub jail were shifted on Saturday. This brutal assault happened on Sunday. Since most of these under trials are involved in serious criminal cases, there is every possibility that many of them could be the target of rival gangs or enemies within their previous jails, who managed to work with jail guards to launch this assault. The other reason could be that these same enemies wanted them back to their previous jails for a variety of reasons. One must keep in mind that since many of their cases were drug related, the bitter rivalry between Goan and foreign drug gangs shows up in situations like these. The jail guards at Colvale could have been used as willing accomplices for a strike ordered by a gang.
This also once again tragically underlines how our prison systems, and its security and sanctity have been long breached. The nexus between gangsters, jail guards and even superintendents is legion in Sada and even the former Aguada jail. From cell phones, home-cooked food to even drugs, have a free flow. Jail breaks have happened all too frequently and influential prisoners and politicians do run their empires from jail premises, including settling disputes.
The inquiry into this massacre must be conducted with lightning speed and a conclusion arrived at within 10 days. Also, everyone in any position in power in the jail set up must step down from his position for a fair probe. Goa’s already sinking reputation as a state with massive tolerance to police and state brutality is reaching a point of no return.
