As if the police action was not sufficient, Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant was quick to announce that the Goa Police would invoke the attempt to murder charge on the protestors, which they did. Surely, invoking this charge under section 307 of Indian Penal Code appears to be too stringent.
Section 307 of IPC, which deals with attempt to murder, says, whoever does any act with such intention or knowledge, and under such circumstances that, if he by that act caused death, he would be guilty of murder, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine; and, if hurt is caused to any person by such act, the offender shall be liable either to imprisonment for life, or to such punishment as is herein before mentioned. The punishment is 10 years imprisonment and a fine. Many of the protesting youth are well educated, some are highly qualified engineers, why derail their future with such charges?
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While slapping a charge under section 307, the government has defended the police action and has also made no mention of the accusations of Police Inspector Sagar Ekoskar walking on the chest of protesting women. The peaceful protestors turned violent only after this, hence he too should face action. For that matter, this is the third time in six months that the PI has been in the news for the wrong reasons. First he was charged of abusing, assaulting and stopping a press conference called by the people of Shel Melauli in July, then in December he was again in the news for slapping a panch in Honda following which he was sent on forced leave and asked to apologise to the people. This is the third incident and as such there has to be action against the policeman. So what has the government done about this?
Can the chief minister tell the people why no action or inquiry is being initiated against the police who mercilessly beat up the protestors, most of who were women? As if this was not enough, the government in a show of strength sent about 1000 policemen to Valpoi. Was this necessary? Why can’t the issue be sorted out with dialogue, with the Chief Minister and Health Minister Visvajit Rane, who is local representative sitting across the table with the people? Instead, the BJP State president has said that he will advise the CM not to go to Melauli.
Just a couple of days ago Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh ordered the withdrawal of charges under the Indian Penal Code’s Section 307 (attempt to murder) against farm laws protesters who dumped cow dung outside an ex-BJP minister’s house. He had said the SHO had gone overboard in registering a case under Section 307. “There was no attempt to murder,” he said, referring to the Hoshiarpur incident, in which a group of protestors had unloaded a trolley full of cow dung in front of former Punjab minister Tikshan Sud’s residence.
Why can’t the Goa Chief Minister take a leaf from this and engage the people of Melauli in a dialogue? After all they are our own people and are not violent criminals. The people are fighting for the land on which generations before them have also lived. There has to be some compassion shown towards them. Interestingly, in this entire incident, the Health Minister hasn’t made a single statement when it is he who should lead the dialogue with the people.
