The spate of robberies and burglaries around Salcete’s countryside has created a sense of insecurity amongst citizens, especially elderly people. The men-in-uniform have come under the scanner of citizens with major robberies and burglaries going undetected, reports Guilherme Almeida
* Fifty-five year old Manisha (name changed) used to carry a stick on her early morning walk to keep the strays at bay. But, now she carries without fail a packet of masala powder as a defense against robbers on the prowl.
* Seventy-year old Reena has now stopped wearing gold ornaments while heading for the early morning Mass. Reason: She is afraid that she might turn out the next victim of chain snatching by miscreants.
These two instances are not isolated incidents as robbers and burglars literally make merry in Salcete’s countryside, creating insecurity and a fear psychosis amongst senior citizens, even as the men-in-uniform are groping in the dark and unable to keep miscreants at bay.
Robbery cases and attacks on elderly women heading for the morning Mass have taken place in Cuncolim, Colva, Navelim, Sao Jose de Areal, besides Benaulim over the last one year, but there’s no breakthrough in these cases.
Take the case of Cuncolim. Elderly women ~ either going for the early morning Mass or for a regular walk were victims of robbers in 4-5 cases reported in the town in recent times. Not a single case has been detected till date, leaving the elderly to fend for themselves. Pleas for early morning patrolling of roads have fallen on deaf ears for reasons best known to the men-in-uniform. Cuncolim Police station in-charge, PI Raju Raut Dessai said the police may not have nabbed the culprits till date, but the personnel are maintaining a track of the suspected miscreants, adding that investigations into the robbery cases are on.
Another case in point is the incident reported at Nessai in Sao Jose de Areal village coming under the jurisdiction of Maina-Curtorim police station. Two armed robbers were nabbed by locals after a hot chase after they snatched the gold chain of a woman heading for the morning mass. What’s interesting to note is that while the two miscreants are behind bars, the men-in-uniform have failed to recover the victim’s gold ornaments till date.
Incidentally, the commercial capital is rocked by a spate of burglaries in recent times after a brief lull. Cases of night burglaries have come to light in areas such as Housing Board, Aquem, Aquem-Baixo and Navelim, but a breakthrough still eludes the Margao police headed by PI Sudesh Naik.
