MARGAO: In a display of patience and professionalism, police and revenue personnel diffused a highly volatile situation in Canacona on Friday night, effectively handling a crowd of over 300 people and averting a potential law and order situation.
At around 6.30 pm on Friday, a carcass of a turtle was discovered in a well at the Aryadurga Petrol Pump, owned by Pushker Prabhudessqai. This discovery alarmed the pump’s staff, as they relied on the well’s water for drinking. Upon the instructions of the petrol pump manager, pump attendant Nami Babu Gaonkar, 40, from Gullem, descended into the well to remove the carcass. When he did not emerge from the well after a considerable amount of time, his colleague, Barkelo Narayan Gaonkar, 42, from Paddi in Quepem, also ventured into the well.
Around 100 people had already gathered at the petrol pump by this point, and at 7.04 pm, the fire services were alerted. Within five minutes, rescue operations commenced under the supervision of Station Fire Officer Ravindranath Velip. Firemen located the bodies of the two pump attendants and retrieved them from the well. By this time, the crowd had swelled to over 300 people, and some even resorted to breaking the glass panes of the petrol pump.
To diffuse the tension, PI Chandrakant Gawas and a team of police personnel attempted to remove the bodies for further procedures. However, their efforts were met with resistance from the belligerent crowd, which insisted on justice for the deceased and refused to allow the officials to handle the bodies, keeping them near the well.
Amidst this standoff, Dy SP Sandesh Chodankar, Canacona Dy Collector Ramesh Gaonkar and Mamlatdar Manoj Korgaonkar arrived at the scene. The officials engaged in a delicate negotiation with the crowd, attempting to persuade them to allow the procedures to continue.
After hours of discussions, a resolution was reached at midnight, avoiding any further damage to property or escalation of the situation. The settlement entailed providing the family members of the deceased individual with Rs 15 lakh in compensation, in addition to monthly wages paid to the families until the deceased would have reached the age of 60 through superannuation.
At 12.20 am, the bodies were transported to the South Goa District Hospital.
The autopsies were conducted on Saturday morning, revealing that the cause of death was drowning.
