BASURI DESAI
A suspended cop, an abusive civilian friend, and a mysteriously with drawn complaint have left the Goa Police facing tough questions over an August 26 restaurant face-off. De spite clear CCTV footage showing civilian Akash Patil hurling abuse at staff and children over a minor bill dispute, legal action re mains at a standstill. While PSI Viraj Sawant, posted at Porvorim Police Station, faces a formal departmen tal inquiry, the spotlight now turns to whether the civilian will face the law— and who engineered the midnight withdrawal of the case. The incident took place on August 26 at Rohit Bar and Restaurant at Socorro, Porvorim, when PSI Sawant reportedly went there for lunch along with two civil ian friends. CCTV footage of the inci dent, which subsequently surfaced on social media, shows an argument be tween the restaurant staff and one of the civilians over the bill. The dispute centred around the price of a cheese naan, for which the custom er was charged Rs 170. The customer questioned the pricing, stating that the same item was available for around Rs 70 elsewhere. According to the footage, one of the ci vilians, identified as Akash Patil, is seen arguing with the person at the counter and threatening him, stating that he would see how the restaurant remained open after 11 pm.
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The video also reveals that PSI Sawant verbally intervened to support Patil in the argument. The matter did not end with the after noon incident. A second CCTV video re corded later that night shows Patil return ing to the restaurant when PSI Sawant was not present. He is seen confronting the staff and using filthy, abusive language. More seriously, the footage captures Patil direct ing his verbal abuse towards children who were having dinner with their families. After the videos went viral on social me dia, senior police authorities suspended PSI Sawant pending departmental pro ceedings. The Goa Police reiterated that misconduct, corruption, and violations of service discipline will not be tolerated, promising strict adherence to the princi ples of natural justice during the inquiry. However, serious questions remain over whether the threats captured on camera are being examined independently. SP North Goa Harishchandra Madkaikar told O Heraldo that an inquiry into Patil’s role is underway.
Madkaikar added that he was unaware of any withdrawal of the com plaint by the restaurant staff. Sources informed O Heraldo that an in itial complaint was submitted on August 31 by Rabindra, a resident of West Bengal, against unknown persons claiming to be police sub-inspectors from Porvorim. The complaint was allegedly withdrawn on the night of September 1 after the complainant was summoned to the Porvorim Police Sta tion. While sources allege the complainant was pressured into backtracking, this claim has not been independently established. When contacted outside the Goa Legisla tive Assembly today, Porvorim PI Tukaram Chavan briefly confirmed to reporters that the overall inquiry is ongoing.
With the SP confirming that the civilian’s conduct is under the scanner, the investi gation is expected to establish the full se quence of events. However, if a formal com plaint was indeed dropped immediately after a citizen was called into a police sta tion, the exact circumstances under which that withdrawal happened will require se vere internal examination.
According to Goa Police, Head Clerk Mukund Menkurkar/Lamgaonkar has been placed under suspension and depart mental action initiated for allegedly induc ing persons facing departmental inquiries to purchase LIC policies through his wife, who is an LIC agent. LDC Pratap Sawant has been suspended and departmental proceedings initiated against him for alleg edly collecting money from Home Guards on the promise of securing them employ ment. Police Constable Gauresh Naik, present ly attached to Porvorim Police Station and previously posted at Valpoi Police Station, has been suspended over allegations of possession of disproportionate assets dur ing his tenure at Valpoi. Goa Police said a separate complaint concerning Gawas is also pending before the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB). Departmental action has also been in itiated against Police Constable Sumesh Mandrekar in connection with his alleged involvement in Crime No. 36/2026 regis tered at Colvale Police Station under Sec tion 20(b)(ii)(A) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Mandrekar has been charge-sheeted in the case, police said.
The move followed the circulation of a video purportedly showing the PSI threatening hotel staff. Goa Police said further departmental ac tion has been initiated against him. The police department said the disciplinary action was being taken in accordance with pre scribed rules and the principles of natural jus tice. “Misconduct, corruption and violation of ser vice discipline will not be tolerated,” Goa Police said, adding that appropriate action would be taken against personnel found violating the law, service rules or the standards of conduct expect ed of members of the force. The department said the proceedings against the personnel would be conducted in accord ance with due process.
