TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: Three hundred and twelve cases so far. That’s the “official” number of robberies, burglaries, chain snatching cases that have been registered in the Margao police sub division comprising the police stations of Margao, Colva, Cuncolim and Maina Curtorim, as thieves and burglars literally made merry in Salcete in 2014.
If the spate of crimes culminated in the daring Davorlim dacoity, triggering shock and outrage in the taluka, the rising number of thefts in Salcete’s coastal belt, with burglars successfully targeting tourists and visitors has sounded alarm bells with the police unable to detect the major cases reported this year.
A senior police officer admitted that burglaries and thefts have shot up marginally this year, but hastened to add that crimes witness a rise in the month of November and December.
“It’s a festive time in Goa during the month of November and December. Criminal gangs from out of State normally visit the State during the fag end of the year because of the tourist season and festivals and commit property offence while leaving,” the officer said.
As expected, Margao police station has topped the list, reporting the highest number of cases, around 165 to be precise. Sadly, the police have so far failed to detect the host of robberies reported in Navelim, Gogol and the latest case in the house of an Indian Bureau of Mines official, where a senior citizen was assaulted before the miscreants made good their escape with the booty.
What has added a new dimension to the property offences is the spate of cases reported along the coastal belt since last year. A number of tourists, mostly putting up in guest houses and apartments, were the target of the miscreants along the coast.
Take the case of the 77-year-old UK woman,
Patricia Hughes. The burglary in the rented apartment of the UK woman last month has again brought to the fore the susceptibility of tourists falling prey to the miscreants.
That the Cavelossim burglary was followed by another daring burglary at Seraulim three days later, also involving a foreigner, indicates the presence of a gang involved in targeting visitors staying along the belt.
