TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: AAP has demanded that the government take “swift steps” just like in the Tejpal case to bring to a logical conclusion many pending cases, including the rape of the 7-year old in a Vasco school in January 2013, in which the lack of progress after more than a year.
Stating that strong and effective action is, in fact, a must to send a message of deterrence against such crimes, Swati Kerkar, the South Goa AAP candidate and the only women candidate in the fray in the state pointed out that she had made a mention of the Tejpal issue to draw attention to the conflicting statements by the Goa CM regarding the efficiency of the Goa Police under the current govt.
In the case of Tarun Tejpal, the CM had asked the Goa Police to act swiftly and fearlessly, but in the case of illegal mining, the CM has expressed doubts about his own police force, even though in both cases, the accused may be high-profile and powerful.
According to Kerkar in the Tarun Tejpal case, “the CM was reported to have said: “I have given complete authority to the police to investigate the case. I have told them to not worry whether the person is low profile or high profile. Stature does not count. What counts is the crime.”
However, in response to a question by a youth at a recently held BJP gathering as to why the BJP-led government had been unable to arrest those responsible for the Rs 35,000 crore mining scam in Goa, the CM was reported to have said:
“The Goa Police (officers) are scared” she said quoting media.
