Team Herald
PANJIM: In a brazen display of misplaced power, a group of eight belligerent policemen who got together for a dinner party at an upmarket restaurant on Tuesday, refused to pay their Rs 8,000 bill, after gorging on a spread of prawn starters and alcoholic drinks.
All eight have been suspended for abusing and threatening the restaurant staff, based on a complaint filed by the owner, but no legal action has been initiated yet.
The group had gone to the bar and restaurant for alcohol and non-vegetarian fare to celebrate Gatari, ahead of the Shravan month that begins on Thursday.
Police sources said the party was thrown by a driver attached to the Calangute Police Station, known to be a ‘trouble maker’ but allowed a long leash because of his alleged closeness to a senior police official.
Sources said they started with a round of beers, and ordered a slew of prawn and chicken starters, and then proceeded to drink hard liquor.
CCTV footage shows that when the bill arrived, the cops, who were tipsy by then, began to hurl abuses at the waiter, refusing to pay it.
Even as other diners at the busy restaurant watched the ruckus unfold, one of the cops bragged, “I am a police”, and said he was not required to pay such a high bill.
While the bill worked out to around Rs 1,000 per head, the rates of all the items they ordered were clearly mentioned on the menu.
When the owner of the restaurant intervened, the badly-behaved men in khaki abused him as well, prompting him to complain to the Saligao Police.
A report of the incident was sent to the higher-ups, confirming their involvement in creating a nuisance in public, refusing to pay the bill and threatening the complainant; based on which the concerned SPs issued their suspension orders.
ASI Vijay Patel of Vasco PS, head constable Jayesh Agarvadekar of Vasco traffic cell, and constables Prajot Phadte and Pranesh Phadte – both attached to Ponda Traffic Cell, Nitesh Borkar (Panjim Special Branch), Soham Tukaskar (PCR Panjim), Vasudev Korgaonkar (Vasco SB) and Vijay Patel (Calangute PS driver) are facing disciplinary action. However, no FIR has been filed as yet, which begs the question as to why the Goa Police does not take legal action against errant cops, when they have no issues hauling protesters to jail.
