MARGAO, DEC 29
Bitter rivalry between friends-turned-foes amidst signs of political realignment and attempts to establish leadership atop the hillock seems to have brought warring groups in the open at migrant inhabited Moti Dongor.
In fact, the Maqbool and Bashir groups have been at loggerheads with each other since the municipal polls and were involved in a spate of assaults since then. While the Bashir group had supported the cousin brother of Chief Minister, Digambar Kamat, the Maqbool group had thrown their weight behind Iqbal.
Sources in the know said that Maqbool was once a close friend of Bashir’s bother Jalil before the swords seizure case created fissures in their relationship. It is not out of place to mention here that both Maqbool and Jalil have built posh bungalows next to each other at Moti Dongor.
While reports attributed business rivalry between the two groups, as possible reasons for the standoff between them, the two camps has dismissed all such reports.
Maqbool told Herald from the Hospital bed that Bashir has been trying to establish his foothold on Moti Dongor by indulging in dadagiri. “The residents are opposed to Bashir’s dadagiri because of his antecedents. I have landed in trouble in the swords case because of Bashir. That’s the time I severed my ties with Jalil as well”, he said.
“I never had any link with Bashir. My friendship was with Jalil. Now, both the brothers are against me because I have exposed Bashir’s criminal activities”, Maqbool added.
Maqbool is into business, owing two buses, a saloon, besides a rickshaw and denied that he has interests in any mining activities.
He admitted that the two brothers could not digest the fact that I and my group supported Iqbal in the Municipal polls against Laxmikant Kamat, cousin brother of the Chief Minister, Digambar Kamat.
On the other hand, Bashir’s brother Jalil says the rivalry between the two groups has only intensified during and after the Municipal polls. “What is happening atop the Moti Dongor is the fall out of the elections”, he said.
Immediate cause of the flare up
The police has attributed the flare up on Moti Dongor to an incident that occurred on Monday when accused Ameen from the Bashir group was manhandled by the rival group.
PI Santosh Desai said that the Maqbool group accused Ameen for allegedly spreading defamatory news about a woman in the locality. Incensed over the incident, the Maqbool group along with women questioned Ameen and the matter later reached the police station after he complained of assaults.
PI Desai said the two groups were brought to the police station and they both decided to compromise on the matter. “The matter had ended at the police station on Monday evening. However, Ameen along with Bashir and others attacked Maqbool and others in retaliation for the assault on Monday”, PI Desai added.
Elders pushed to background
The diktat of the elders – the first settlers on the hillock around three decades ago – no longer runs large amongst the youth atop the hillock, so it seems.
At one time, elders such as Tara, Maulla and others were deciding on issues affecting the inhabitants, whether political or otherwise. One of the first settlers on the hillock, Tara says the inhabitants had never fought amongst themselves over the last three decades, adding that the violence and rivalry would only give the locality a bad name.
Sources said that Maulla was once a force to reckon with amongst the minority community, but now youth such as Jalil, Bashir, Maqbool and others have their own pockets of influence on the hillock.
Police under scanner
The Margao police has come under the scanner as both the groups have charged the men-in-uniform for not initiating action on time against anti-social elements.
Maqbool said that repeated police inaction to crack a whip has only emboldened Bashir to unleash a reign of terror on Moti Dongor.
This group, which had supported a candidate against the cousin brother of the Chief Minister, feels that the police have not acted promptly to nip the trouble in the bud.
On the other hand, the rival group also feels that the police did not act sternly against the anti-socials for damaging two-wheelers owned by members of the Bashir group
When contacted, Margao PI Santosh Desai said that the police can initiate action only as per the law and not beyond. “We have acted on complaints received from the two groups by registering cases, which are under investigations”, he said, and declined to comment on the general perception that the police fear is no more felt atop the hillock due to the patronage enjoyed by one group.
