Team Herald
PANJIM: The Old Goa police, on Tuesday, arrested a St Cruz resident for allegedly creating environmental hazard and public nuisance by setting on fire dumped garbage in the village. The man identified as Laxman Pujari (33) was caught after a search based on the clues gathered during the course of investigation.
“We received a complaint from the Sarpanch Diksha Kavalekar informing about the incident. We registered the offence and formed a team to trace the accused. Pujari was arrested and he also confessed to the crime. We are interrogating him further to know why he resorted to this crime,” said police inspector Jivba Dalvi.
The accused is booked under Section 285 (negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter) and 290 (punishment for public nuisance in cases not otherwise provided for) of the Indian Penal Code.
The panchayat was recently fined Rs 25,000 for violation of solid waste management rules and creating environmental pollution. The investigation will also probe if Pujari is involved in similar incidents in the village, due to which the Goa State Pollution Control Board imposed a penalty on the panchayat.
In another incident, huge pile of garbage at Taleigao was on fire prompting panic in the vicinity. Fire tenders were rushed to the site to douse the flames even as the people complained of toxic smoke owing to the fire. The local panchayat and the police have begun a probe into this incident. Similar incident was also reported from the dump area in February when residents came on the streets inquiring into thick smoke that enveloped the vicinity linking Taleigao and Dona Paula.
