Crime Watch
Ponda shops burglary
Victim: Three shop owners.
Place: Upper Bazar, Ponda.
Date: February 5, 2013.
Police Station: Ponda.
Incident: Burglars targeted three shops at Upper Bazar, Ponda, and decamped with cash of Rs 11,500. Ponda Police informed that a liquor shop, a general store and a cloth shop were targeted by the burglars in the wee hours of February 5. The incident came to light when one of the shop owners went to open his shop.
According to Ponda Police, the burglars entered all the three shops by bending the shutter using a metal rod. Cash of Rs 5,000 each from the liquor and general store and Rs 1,500 from the cloth shop are reported to be stolen.
Status of Investigation: Police is yet to achieve breakthrough in the case. Incidentally, services of neither dog squad nor finger prints experts were utilized.
Gogol house burglary
Victim: Senior citizen.
Place: Gogol.
Date: 7th March, 2013.
Police station: Margao.
Incident: Unknown culprits barged inside the house senior citizen Ashok V Kamat at Amrutnagar-Gogol and decamped cash and other valuables valued Rs 62,000. The victim was inside the house when the incident occurred and the burglars are believed to have effected entry by removing the iron grills.
Status of Investigation: The Margao police have no clue about the daring burglary and are believed to have sought the assistance of finger print experts to obtain clue in the case. This is one of the many cases, where the burglars have effected entry by removing the window grills. The police have interrogated persons in connection with the incident, but there’s no breakthrough yet in the case.
Kidnapping, abuse of minor girls
Victim: Two minor girls
Place: Mary Immaculate School and Kala Academy
Date: March 5 (the first incident)
Police Station: Panjim
Incident: The two-month-old case of rape of seven-year-old student in the school toilet is still fresh in the minds of the people. Despite this incident, the insensitivity towards the safety of girl students continues. A minor girl studying in Mary Immaculate School was kidnapped by a group of boys in broad day light on March 5. The incident has mocked Goa police’s claims of regularly conducting inspections in the school premises and so also the security steps taken by the school authorities.
As this case is being investigated another minor girl became a target of three boys, including a minor. In this case, the boys captured the 14-year-old victim’s clipping while she kissed one of them at Kala Academy, some 18 months back. The accused Abhishek Kotoch, Hussain Siddiqui and the minor boy began threatening her of leaking the video to her family and on social networking sites, and extorted about Rs 50,000 from her.
In both cases, the respective families then lodged police complaints.
Status of the Investigation: The Panjim police nonetheless acted swift and arrested Salman alias Abdul Kadar of Chimbel and his friends of kidnapping the school girl. After five days, the police team managed to trace her whereabouts in Bangalore and is being brought back to Goa. The team along with the rescued girl is likely to reach Goa Monday, March 11. While in the other case, the three boys, who supposedly are the victim’s friends were immediately placed under arrest. Abhishek and Hussain are presently in police custody while the minor has been sent to Apna Ghar.
