PANJIM: Goa Police constable Vikas V Kaushik (PC 7031) who was placed under suspension earlier by the Director General of Police on August 10, has been dismissed from service for gross misconduct, dishonesty and conniving with criminals involved in thefts in the state.
Constable Kaushik did the unbelievable, even in comparison to the moral and ethical abyss the Goa police has sunk sometimes, he directed a criminal gang in North Goa to commit thefts and then offered them protection from all criminal activity. He got exposed when one chain snatching accused spilled the beans.
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An order issued by SP (Headquarters) Nelson Albuquerque dismissing him stated, “The involvement of said PC 7031 Vikas Kaushik is a shameful criminal activity and has eroded the faith of the common people and his continuance in the force is likely to cause further irreparable loss to the functioning and credibility of Goa police.”
“After such serious misconduct if he is allowed to continue in service it would be detrimental to public interest, and in the exercise of power by virtue of Goa police subordinate service (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1975 and article 311 (2) (b) of the Constitution of India, (I) dismiss Vikas Kaushik, PC 7031 of GRP “B” Coy Altinho, Panjim by dispensing with an inquiry as it is not reasonably practical to hold it in the matter,” the order stated.
The links of his alleged criminal connections with anti-social elements was exposed when one Uttarra Mayekar from Mulgao-Bicholim on July 7, that an unknown motorcycle-borne accused snatched her mangalsutra valued at Rs 57,000 and fled.
A case was registered at the Bicholim police station in this connection, which made no headway. However, on August 1, a similar offence was registered at Navelim and one Faizan Sayyed from St Jose de Areal, Nessai-Curtorim, was arrested by the police. He confessed of his involvement in the crime and also told the police that he had stolen a mangalsutra at Bicholim.
During his custodial interrogation, the accused Sayyed spilled the beans and made a shocking revelation. He told the investigating officer that police constable Vikas Kaushik had offered him and his gang members protection and was in constant touch with all of them through a social media account, which the controversial cop had created on one of the stolen cellphones.
Sayyed also disclosed that Kaushik never called them from his personal mobile for fear of being tracked and exposed.
“We were instructed by Kaushik to commit thefts in the North District of Goa and if caught he would arrange for an advocate to get us released. We were also told to delete all chat history and call details from the mobile phone to escape the police,” Sayyed told the police.
When Sayyed was produced before the Bicholim police, he in his confessional statement reiterated that he was instrumental in the chain-snatching case and was directed to commit thefts in North Goa by a police constable named Kaushik.
“The constable would give us information about the movement of police and kept calling me and other gang members through the social media account,” he said.
Incidentally, on the day of Sayyed’s arrest, Kaushik called up the Bicholim SDPO Sagar Ekoskar to find out whether Sayyed had pointed a gun towards the PI and the staff and inquired whether he was beaten up.
Despite the SDPO denying that such an incident had occurred, Kaushik through his contacts in the media got the news item published in a local English daily. The department has also observed that Kaushik calling up the Bicholim SDPO over the phone amounted to “gross indiscipline, insubordination and unwanted interference in the police force”.
The police department observed that ‘Kaushik’s act and unholy communion with criminals has led to an increase in thefts in North Goa and this is an extremely dangerous trend as he was found to be conniving with criminals and supplying information to them from the department rather than keeping vigil’.
