MURDER N THE FAMILY

The mega bucks made through property selling and dealings have led to a surge in property related crimes in the State. Over 200 FIRs exclusively related to property disputes are filed across 23 police stations in the last decade indicating the depth of this problem. 

These FIRs and thousands of cases fought in the courts have made property disputes one of the contentious issues in the coastal state. 

Some disputes have even lead to murders where the killer is someone from the family or known to it. These property disputes have led to family murders.

The dispute over property in Goa has shocked law enforcement authorities. 

Even 200 sq mtrs of property spark major wars in families which led to limitations. The recent murder in Karaswada is a classic example where dispute over property led to the murder of one Kalim Shaikh in a spat that occurred earlier this month. 

Kalim died during a fight between the two brothers in Karaswada earlier this month. He had gone with his brother-in-law to secure the 200 sq mtrs of the comunidade plot from Mohammad Ali. The eight accused were arrested by the Mapusa Police while two were seriously injured in the scuffle.  

Many people have been murdered over land disputes and incidents of murder and kidnapping for land have become common, putting a question mark over the efficiency of the law enforcement agencies, a senior police official confirmed. 

A senior criminal lawyer has said that most of the fights are due to greed of the money attached to the property. “It is a fact that finding property in Goa presently is very difficult due to the real estate boom. The fights between families and siblings happen due to the greed for money” he said.  

Land prices in Goa have shot up and families having land have looked at it as a source of income which has led to the greed, a senior police officer said while speaking to Herald. He said that when multiple siblings try to play the role of the big brother, it triggers feelings of resentment and anger. 

It is also noticed in Goa, especially in urban areas where families who having the land have sold it due to the greed for money and when they started expanding one personal property, issues started arising. Units would continue to increase but the setback usually occurs once properties begin expanding one room at a time.

A total of 21% crimes registered are property related disputes as per the national crime record bureau. The highest number of property dispute cases has been found in Bihar where thousands of cases have been registered at various police stations as per the statistics available with NCRB. Looking at the size of Goa, the approximate statistics actually cut a very alarming figure. Goa is not far from Bihar. Over 200 property related cases have already been registered at various police stations in Goa in the past few years. 

“The property related cases are going into litigation in courts and it takes a long time to finalise. It is not getting sorted easily and then the dispute turns to violence,” said Sabina Martins, a social activist from Panjim. She said that in the state of Goa, there is no mechanism to resolve these cases on priority and that only that mechanism can help to stop the violence in the state. Many elderly people have even lost their lives in a fight due to a dispute over ancestral property which is very sad, she mentioned. 

“Some people lose tolerance and take extreme steps by assaulting if the discussion over the dispute goes out of the way. However, not all murders are intentional. In a scuffle, a murder might occur unintentionally. Some however, are intentional” said one of the police inspectors from North Goa. 

He said that there is a need for a lot of councilors and awareness among people who are losing their patience due to pending cases in the court for years. 

The police stations in Goa have also received complaints of modesty being outraged and molestation which are also due to property disputes. Sometimes, when revenge is on the mind, the accused attempts to get the opposite party in trouble after a petty fight or scuffle between families. There are cases where a brother has killed his own brother or sister or a sister has lodged a molestation complaint against a brother. 

“The well known reason behind rising land-related crime is that the value of property is continuously increasing in the State. On the other hand, those already involved in crimes have started property businesses and have become real estate agents and brokers,” said Shamba Desai, a real estate agent.       

Case 1 Brother allegedly kills sister and her mother-in-law over property dispute

It was in September 2013, when news of a double murder sent shockwaves through the village of St Cruz, adjacent to the capital city of Panjim. Norman Fernandes is accused of killing his own sister Noreen Fernandes and her mother-in-law Aurita Anes e Vaz over a property dispute. 

Noreen’s husband, Edgar Vaz was also seriously hurt in the attack, but survived the injuries. The accused has been charged under Sections 302 (for murder), 307 (for attempted murder), 201 (for destruction of evidence) read with 34 of IPC, among other sections.

Old Goa police have filed a chargesheet against the two alleged accused persons in the case and the trial is pending before the district court in Panjim. 

Case 2 One person dies in a scuffle over 200 sq mtrs of property

Over a dispute of 200 sq meters of Comunidade property at Karaswada, Mapusa, one Kalim Shaikh lost his life in a fight which took place in February this year. The said property was in the possession of Mohammad Ali (52) for the last 40 years. Two brothers were in the scrap business. 

There was a dispute over the property between the two brothers – Mohammad Ali and Aukat Mohammad since a couple of months. But on January 12, 2016, the deputy collector passed an order and gave possession of the property to the younger brother, Aukat. However, the elder brother challenged the said order in the sessions court and brought a stay on the order of the deputy collector on January 22, 2016. 

Aukat Mohammad came to the residence of Mohammad Ali and called his son Khalid Mohammad outside the house. Khalid opened the door and came out. The moment he stepped out, he was attacked by five persons including his uncle Aukat and Aukat’s four brothers-in-law. In the scuffle, Kalim Shaikh, brother-in-law of Aukat was critically stabbed and died due to his injuries. 

Interestingly, the dispute between the two brothers is over a piece of 200 sq mtrs of land next to the national highway where scrap is being dumped by them for the last couple of years. The property was in litigation as there was no clear title and it belonged to the Comunidade but was in possession of Mohammad Ali. 

Case 3 Son allegedly kills father in greed of property 

A hotel owner was stabbed to death by his son at a hotel at Baga in November 2013 in North Goa. A quarrel broke out between the father and his son over property and in a fit of rage, Deepak Luthria (48) allegedly stabbed his father Shyam Luthria (78) in the abdomen with a knife as per police records of the Calangute Police Station. The Late Luthria was the owner of a resort at Baga beach and there used to be fights between the father and son over the property for a few months before the incident. The case has been chargesheeted by the Calangute Police and a trial is pending before the court. 

Case 4 Senior citizen murdered in Varca

Benaulim resident Claudina Baptista, 64 was charged for murdering Varca resident Ana Maria Dias, 50 by pelting a stone at her. Claudina pelted a stone at the deceased which hit her head and resulted in excessive bleeding and death within three days. The women got into a quarrel over family land issues and in the spur of a moment, the fight turned deadly ending the life of the deceased Ana. 

The Additional Sessions Judge acquitted Claudina in August 2015 after the court observed that evidence being circumstantial, the prosecution has to prove all the links in the chain pointing out only one fact that it was the accused who had assaulted the victim with the stone and the prosecution had failed to prove the same beyond reasonable doubt.