Two months after CM’s assurance of intensifying patrolling
TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.con
MARGAO: On April 7 last, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar told the villagers of Betalbatim ~ after a girl and a woman came under attack from migrants ~ that law and order meant that women should be able to walk freely on the beach even late in the night.
He then promised to strengthen police patrolling along Salcete’s coastal belt and restore confidence of the villagers, especially women folk.
But two months after the assurance to intensify patrolling within a fortnight, nothing much has happened. Inquiries have revealed there’s no change in the ground reality, with the coastal belt facing a manpower shortage since the last several months.
Sunday’s incident of kidnapping of the minor girl has once again brought to the fore inadequate presence of police at road junctions and along the belt and the virtual absence of police patrolling in the villages along the coast.
Nuvem MLA Mickky Pacheco said he has not seen police patrolling the coastal belt after Chief Minister’s assurance two months ago. “I do not see any difference as far as patrolling is concerned. The police approach to the problem is a matter of concern. You have to understand that people have lost faith in the police force. The Vasco rape case is an example of the failure of the police machinery,” Mickky said. He felt that the Home Minister should discuss the issue with the police top brass on strengthening security along the coastal belt.
Sadly, leave alone deploying additional policemen for patrolling, the Colva police station is grossly understaffed, despite its jurisdiction spanning from Cavelossim to Majorda. The police station is headed by a police officer of the rank of police inspector and is assisted by a lone police sub-inspector. “How can a lone PSI work in a major police station such as Colva. The government has either ignored or neglected the requirements of the Colva police station,” remarked a police official.
Incidentally, the Chief Minister had inaugurated the Mobor police outpost with much fanfare in Cavelossim village in the jurisdiction of Colva police station on May 18. Presently, the outpost is manned by five police constables, with the lone Head Constable seen more at the Colva police station than at Mobor.
Coincidentally, Thursday’s kidnapping incident is the third incident targeting local women allegedly by migrants or tourists.
Betalbatim had reported two incidents around two months ago, including the brutal attack on a minor girl by a migrant construction labourer, followed by the attack on a 41-year old while she was heading to the beach at Betalbatim.
