Team Herald
PONDA: A petty quarrel between two mining truck drivers over overtaking on a narrow road escalated into a full-blown war in which five houses were destroyed and two shops, a flat, a scrap-yard and some vehicles were set on fire at Usgao, on Saturday.
According to the Ponda police, a petty quarrel broke out between mining truck drivers Balaraj Honshamani and Shailendra, on Saturday morning, when one tried to overtake the other in Usgao. Balaraj is a migrant while Shailendra is a local.
It is reported that after reaching home, Balaraj gathered eight of his relatives and his uncle Arjun Honshamani, went to the electronic shop owned by Shailendra’s brother Sidhant at Usgao and manhandled him.
Angered at the manhandling, Sidhant’s relatives, neighbours and locals – numbering over seventy — went in a gang to the residences of Balaraj and his relatives and destroyed five houses, two shops, a scrap-yard, a flat and a number of vehicles. When the mob-attack ended five families were rendered homeless.
Following this, both the locals and the migrants rushed to Ponda police station to complain against each other.
Though the attack took place between 11.30 am and 2.30 pm, no panchanama was conducted till evening, as most of the police personnel from Ponda were deployed for BRICS summit at Margao.
However, later in the evening police were deployed at Usgao to maintain law and order.
According to general estimates, properties worth lakhs of rupees were damaged by the irate mob.
According to sources, the house of Arjun Honshamani was totally gutted in fire, while the house his brother Maruthi Honshumani and of one Babu Bhimappa Wadar were totally damaged. Arjun’s two shops, a scrap-yard and his vehicles were burnt down in a fire set by the mob. The flat set on fire reportedly belongs to Balaraj who picked up a quarrel with Shailendra.
Speaking to Herald, four migrant families said that they were not connected to the incident in anyway and yet their houses were destroyed. They also complained that the locals were threatening them to leave Usgao.
Meanwhile, Usgao locals gathered at the police station in large numbers demanding the arrested of Arjun and other migrants who manhandled Sidhant.
