VIBHA VERMA
vibha@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: Firearms, sticks and knives are back in the hands of criminals, and it is again in St Cruz. The deadly early morning attack on Imran Bepari, which killed a member of the gang involved in the firing, has brought back memories of gangster activities in the village that took place in the late 1980s and 1990s.
Fear among St Cruz locals has surfaced and they slam the police for failing to prevent the law and order situation. “The incident is clear evidence that the police are incapable. This is happening every six months, or maybe every day, we are not even aware. There is no fear of the law. Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant, DGP (officiating) should step down if they are incompetent to handle such incidents,” activist and St Cruz resident Andrea Pereira said.
About six months ago, sources said, Bepari had attacked a member from his rival gang. He was arrested and later released on bail. Reportedly, he developed his own gang which upset the rival gang.
Domnick Pereira, another local resident said the attack took him back to the 1990s when assaults and gang wars were regular in the village. “We are absolutely not safe. I fully blame the police. In the ’90s we were in the headlines and those days are coming back,” he said.
Sitaram Nagvekar, in his late 50s, said he was shocked to hear of Saturday’s attack. Recalling his young days in the village, Nagvekar said gang wars had been prevalent and feared a repeat. “I was shocked to know that a deadly attack has happened while we all were asleep. What if it was during the day time? The shootout might have killed innocent locals. The police are failing in their duties,” he said.
Ward councilor Ulhas Naik also expressed shock, but refrained from making any comment about the notoriety in the village. “I was shocked to know about it in the morning. I saw many people gathered around (Bepari’s house) and huge police force. One of them told me about the shootout. I stay at an arm’s length and don’t interfere,” he said, on being asked about the history of gang wars in St Cruz.
St Cruz has a history of gang war. In the 1980s and early 1990s rival gangs held sway over the village and this involved a late politician’s kin. The village has witnessed gang wars, notorious attacks and assaults. Herald’s independent inquiry has revealed that the ‘kin’ and his gang were involved in extortion while the police preferred to not interfere in the activity. Decades ago, a rival gang member had even been dragged out of a cinema theatre and killed in the middle of the road. It was only after the then chief minister, Ravi Naik, acted on the lawlessness that the gangs were broken up.
But since then, several names of gangsters and deadly gang wars have emerged, of whom Ashpak Bhengre, who was in Colvale jail under charges of extortion and drug peddling, was killed by an inmate inside the jail in 2016. The gangster was booked by Karnataka, Goa and Chandigarh police for various offences like extortion and drug peddling was in his 40s and brought to Goa on transfer remand from Chandigarh police, just one year before his murder by another criminal Vinayak Karborkar. His reach to St Cruz was not isolated.
It was in 2009, that Bhengre had planned an attack on his friend-turned-foe Mehboob Mulla Shah alias Bichhu outside the Sessions Court. What exposed a mega lapse on the part of the then jail officials, Bhengre was in the Mapusa judicial lock-up when he masterminded the attack. He had come in contact with criminals in the lock-up, kept in contact with them after their release and formed a gang to execute the attack on Bichhu, an undertrial in another attempt to murder case.
Another name in the list of gangsters, allegedly involved in serious criminal cases, is known to recruit gang members from southern tip of the country for extortion, robbery, etc. Notably, the criminals have/had their links beyond St Cruz.
