Team Herald
PANJIM: Advocate Aires Rodrigues filed a Letter Petition before the High Court of Bombay at Goa over the chaos that prevailed in Panjim on Monday during the protest by the mining dependents.
Rodrigues has urged the High Court to take suo moto cognisance of the ‘sordid events of March 19’ and to call upon the Chief Secretary, North Goa Collector and the Director General of Police to explain how such mockery of the law and holding of the State to ransom was permitted.
He stated that it was imperative that in accordance with the 1998 directions of the Supreme Court, the organisers of the protest be made to pay compensatory costs for the massive police force deployed and for the loss, destruction and damage caused to property.
Rodrigues in his petition stated that despite prohibitory orders under Sec 144 the law enforcement authorities chose to be mere spectators, while thousands of citizens were stranded for hours and more importantly hundreds of school students were left in the lurch.
Pointing out that it was a clear case of total collapse of the administration with ‘governance having gone for a toss’, Rodrigues stated that the capital city was brought to a grinding halt with nothing done to prevent the blockade, while the city was held to ransom.
In his petition he held the Chief Secretary, North Goa Collector and the Director General of Police responsible for the fiasco as they were aware that such a situation was likely to arise but took no preventive measures to block the protestors from travelling to Panjim.
