TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: Two and half months after its launch, since the anti-corruption helpline of Goa Police has failed to ring, since not a single complaint of police corruption has been received, the department is touting it as a major achievement, considering the battering it has taken in the recent past about allegations of corruption in the force.
Moreover, police claim that the splitting of local intelligence bureau (LIB) from every police station has also proved advantageous since that unit earned a bad reputation for allegedly indulging in corrupt practices.
Inspector General of Police Sunil Garg told Herald they have not received any bribery complaints from the people since November 15, 2014 when the decision to disband LIB was also taken.
The web helpline goapolice.vigilance@nic.in and 24×7 mobile helpline 7030100000 was started to fight corruption, as the department saw more than 35 police officers of the rank of police sub inspectors and above, suspended since 2005 due to various reasons such as corruption, misconduct, negligence in duty and even criminal offenses.
The department had to face major embarrassment about five years ago, when more than a dozen policemen, including police inspector Ashish Shirodkar, PSIs Punaji Gawas and Sunil Gudlar were arrested for their alleged links with drug lords in the State and charged with corruption.
The cop to be suspended was Constable Melvyn Cardozo, who was indicted for threatening and extorting money from a group of domestic tourists in August 2014 and was suspended in November 2014.
Sources informed that complaints of bribery and extortions, particularly from the tourists have not come to the fore as of now. The LIB, most of who are in plain clothes was also accused of demanding and accepting bribes from people.
Former chief minister and Union Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar was quoted as saying that he had ‘inherited a corrupt and ineffective police force that had been reduced to shambles by the previous Congress-led regime, whose home minister Ravi Naik and kin now face charges of being involved in the drug trade.’
Goa Police chief T N Mohan was also quoted as saying that he was ashamed at the “unacceptable levels of corruption” in the force while also mentioning that efforts were made to ensure tourists and tourism-oriented business establishments were not used as soft targets by policemen with extortionist tendencies.
