Expressing strong dissatisfaction over alleged police inaction, a local fisherman along with several villagers and social activists on Thursday met South Goa Superintendent of Police Santosh Desai, demanding the immedi ate registration of an FIR against certain builders. The delegation, led by complainant Antonio Rod rigues, included his family members, local residents, and social activists Antho ny D’Silva and Fidol Pereira. The group visited the SP’s office in Margao to ques tion why the police had not registered an FIR based on Rodrigues’ complaint, even though several days had passed since it was filed. According to the villag ers, a complaint lodged by the builders in the same matter had already been converted into an FIR against local fishermen. However, they alleged that the complaint filed by Rod rigues against the builders has not received similar ac tion, leading to accusations of bias and selective treat ment. The issue has been sim mering in Colva for some time. Recently, nearly a hundred villagers had gher aoed the Colva police sta tion, alleging inaction and demanding the transfer of Police Inspector Vikram Naik. The protesters had accused the local police of failing to act impartially and of not providing pro tection to local residents. Speaking to reporters in Margao after meeting the SP, Rodrigues expressed anger over what he described as an unjust delay. He alleged that the builders had assaulted and threatened him and his family members in the pres ence of police personnel. “We are shocked that the police have still not regis tered an FIR on my com plaint. The police say they need to investigate before registering the FIR. This is totally unfair. It is very clear that the police are trying to protect the builders con cerned instead of protect ing local residents,” Rodri gues said. He further demanded the suspension of PI Vikram Naik and called upon the Chief Minister to intervene in the matter to ensure justice. Social activist Anthony D’Silva said that the police are legally bound to regis ter an FIR upon receiving a complaint disclosing a cog nisable offence. He warned that public frustration in Colva could intensify if ac tion is not taken promptly. Fidol Pereira also criti cised the police for what she termed as continued inaction and alleged that attempts were being made to spread misinformation about the issue to mislead the public. Superintendent of Police Santosh Desai heard the grievances of the delega tion and assured them that the matter would be looked into and that the FIR would be registered at the earliest
Colva row escalates as delegation demands FIR against builders
