TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
SANTA CRUZ: Barely 15 minutes from Panjim, St Cruz is a world part, quiet for most of the year, and even in December when international visitors descend on Panjim and its neighbouring area of Old Goa.
Last weekend though, a new resident from Goa Velha, shook their world. An ‘unverified tenant’ for fifteen days, Luisa Maria Dias’ killing after a suspected sexual assault, has left St Cruz shaken. And stirred.
Santa Cruz Sarpanch Vincent Lourenco claimed that the village needed better police security. He told Herald that the panchayat will conduct a drive to verify all those premises which are being rented out and record details of all tenants.
“Since the village is close to Panjim, people prefer to settle here or stay on rent, which is the reason why the security of the area gets compromised,” Lourenco said
“There is a need to set up a police outpost in the village as untoward incidents have been on the rise in the village. Land has already been identified to set up the police outpost near the Bank of Goa.”
Lourenco also blamed the owners who rent out their houses for not giving tenant verification details to the police.
“At the recent gram sabha, the villagers had resolved that the panchayat should collect one month’s rent from those premises which are being rented out,” he said.
But for the moment a life of a 69 year old has been lost, with a lingering mystery over why she had to leave family in nearby Goa Velha and rent a flat at this age.
