Team Herald
MARGAO: Irked over the inaction on the part of the police with regards the recent assault on Goencho Ekvott founder Orville Dourado Rodrigues outside the Verna Police Station, Velsao villagers believe the recent statements of the police and the attitude shown by the other authorities are aimed at discrediting and sabotaging the double tracking movement by trying to tarnish the image of those who have been involved in the agitation.
They have raised questions why the complaint filed by Rodrigues has not been entertained? How the police allowed the assault to take place?
They further questioned Why the CCTV footage of the incident was not used and why the breath analyser test on the main accused not conducted?
The villagers have been visiting Rodrigues at his Velsao residence over the last week to express their solidarity with him and expressed their shock that a person so senior and highly regarded in the community was assaulted and suffered injuries.
They pointed out that Orville had gone to the police station to show support to his fellow villagers and instead was assaulted when he had done nothing wrong.
“Everyone in the village is upset with the turn of events and how Orville has been treated. Why has there been no proper investigation by the police into that incident? Worse is that it appears that the authorities are encouraging such situations instead of diffusing it as now the message is being sent that such types of incidents can occur and there will be no accountability. There has been peace in Velsao for so many years now. We, the people, know exactly why these things are happening now and we condemn them,” said Manuel Rodrigues, local resident.
Others pointed out the irony of Verna Police Station being awarded as the best police station in Goa against the backdrop of such developments.
“If someone can be assaulted outside the police station, it paints a scary picture for the rest of the people. It looks like the police thought it was a bullfight and thus ignored it as usual. We demand speedy justice and want the investigations carried out properly against the accused. This should have happened that day itself and we should not be asking for this a week later. We won’t accept facts being changed either as tomorrow they will say Orville and Olencio Simoes were fighting with each other,” said Captain Francis Gouveia, another Velsao resident.
The villagers have also accused the Verna Police of showing a biased attitude towards them by pointing out a pattern where prior complaints filed by the villagers on other issues have also not been entertained by the police including a recent one that was filed by Velsao panch Fransisco Braganza.
