Two senior citizens from Shristhal, Canacona, who were bru tally assaulted by a group of people last month, have accused the Canacona Po lice of bias and deliberate shielding of influential government officials al legedly involved in the attack. The elderly victims — Kusta Velip and Bhiso Velip — claim that their written complaint clearly named a Deputy Collector and a Head Constable as the “key conspirators and instigators” behind the assault, yet both names were deliberately omitted from the First Information Report (FIR). “We have given our state ments to the police thrice, clearly identifying the two officials involved. But our words have been ignored. The police seem deter mined to protect them,” said Kusta Velip, still recov ering from the injuries sus tained in the assault. According to the duo, the dispute began after they report ed alleged illegal construction activity in their neighbour hood to the local panchayat. Days later, they were allegedly ambushed and attacked near a shop in Shristhal by a group said to have been mobilised by the two government officers. The victims have now demanded that the case be inves tigated by an officer above the rank of Inspector — prefer ably a Senior Scale officer from outside Canacona jurisdic tion — to ensure impartiality and transparency. “We have lost faith in the Canacona Police. Their inves tigation has been completely one-sided. We want an inde pendent officer to handle the case,” said Bhiso Velip. Canacona Police, while confirming that an FIR has been registered against around 17–18 persons, denied omitting any names, claiming that the officials’ names do not appear in the victims’ statement. The victims, however, insist this is “completely false and misleading.” “We have repeatedly asked for copies of our statements recorded at three different locations, but the police have refused to provide them. In all three statements and our written complaint, we clearly named the two government officials,” the victims asserted. Police officials maintained that if the involvement of any other accused — including the named Deputy Collector or Head Constable — emerges during investigation, their names will be added in the chargesheet. Frustrated with what they call a “clear case of adminis trative bias and misuse of power,” the victims have threat ened to stage a hunger strike outside Canacona Police Sta tion if authorities fail to take corrective action. This development comes amid growing public outrage in Goa over a series of recent incidents involving government officials accused of misuse of authority. Just last week, a senior citizen was allegedly killed over a property dispute, triggering widespread anger across the State. In another controversial case, a Deputy Collector was accused of wrongfully detaining a Power Department engi neer by misusing powers under the election process — an episode that drew sharp condemnation from civil society and opposition parties. Against this volatile backdrop, the Shristhal assault case has further intensified public debate over selective policing and lack of accountability in Goa’s administrative machin ery. Local activists and residents have urged the State Gov ernment and the Director General of Police (DGP) to trans fer the investigation to a neutral, senior-ranking officer to restore public confidence in the justice system.
Shristhal Assault Case: Elderly Victims Allege Canacona Police Shielding Officials Named in Complaint
