TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: BJP MLAs Rajan Naik and Subhash Faldessai along with panchayat elected representatives from Quepem taluka protested over the delay by the Cuncolim police in arresting the main accused in the Balli deputy sarpanch Bamtu Velip assault case.
They submitted a memorandum to Cuncolim Police station in-charge, PI Raju Raut Desai, demanding the arrest of the accused and justice for the Balli deputy sarpanch.
The police expressed its inability to arrest the third accused Mahendra Velip on grounds that he had moved the court for anticipatory bail.
Flanked by the Cuncolim MLA Rajan Naik and the panchayat elected members, MLA Subhash Faldesai expressed his unhappiness over the failure of the Cuncolim police to nab the third accused Mahendra Velip, who he claimed is a government servant.
“PI Raut Desai has said the third accused could not be arrested since he moved for bail, but we feel the police should have acted fast after the incident and nabbed all the three accused”, he said.
Faldessai said the attack on the Balli deputy Sarpanch posed a serious threat to grassroots democracy and expressed fears that police failure to nab the third accused will only embolden anti-social elements to hold gram sabhas to ransom. “Just imagine a situation when a government servant led an attack on the deputy sarpanch. Certainly, this does not augur well for democracy. What’s worse is that the accused has been moving freely without any fear of punishment”, he said.
Cuncolim MLA Rajan Naik said the attack on the Balli gram sabha is highly condemnable. “There’s no room for violence in a democracy. There may be difference of opinion, but violence cannot be acceptable in a democratic polity”, Rajan added.
