Social activist Rama Kankonkar, who was brutally assaulted by a gang of seven histo ry-sheeters on Septem ber 18 in broad daylight in the heart of Panjim, has vowed to resume his activism soon. “I am not deterred by the brutal assault on me. This incident has only strengthened my resolve. I will be back soon, and I will definitely restart my fight against injustice and take up issues plagu ing the state,” Kankonkar told O Heraldo. Admitting that he con tinues to experience the psychological effects of the attack at Caranza lem, Kankonkar said, in a voice betraying his physi cal exhaustion, “I am still struggling with trauma, although I am under medication. I am trying to overcome it. Thankfully, my bladder problem has been cured by doc tors. Though I feel phys ically better, sleeping is often difficult due to troubling thoughts.” Hoping that life will return to normal, Kankonkar added, “I still have blurred vision in my right eye due to the inju ry suffered during the as sault. In bright sunlight, the blurring worsens.”
“Doctors have advised eye drops and medication for the next three months. If the blurred vision persists, I may have to undergo surgery,” he said. Reiterating his determination to hold his attackers ac countable, he said, “I will continue my fight against them. I don’t succumb easily to threats or attacks. During the identification parade, I identified six of the seven assail ants. Except for history-sheeterMinguel Araujo, I had no contact with any of them, including history-sheeter, Zenito Cardozo. But I recognised them. I had no personal enmity with anyone.” According to Kankonkar, prior to the assault, Minguel Araujo had attempted to attack him twice following an al tercation after a minor accident at Bambolim in February this year. Minguel allegedly came to his residence at Curca on two occasions and threatened him, once even brandish ing a knife at night. “I expressed my suspicion about the involvement of the Chief Minister and the Tourism Minister in the attack be cause I had taken up the issue of political reservation for ST communities and the controversy surrounding the Kha preshwar temple at Porvorim,” Kankonkar said.
