TEAM HERALD
bureau@herald-goa.com
MERCES: The Agassaim police arrested three persons from Wadwad-Curca on charges of obstructing the Curca Sarpanch and the Panchayat Secretary from conducting an inspection of an alleged illegal construction of a house, last Tuesday. The three were, however, released on bail the same day.
According to police, the incident occurred when the Sarpanch Maria da Cunha along with the deputy sarpanch and the panchayat secretary had gone to Wadwad-Curca to inspect an alleged illegal construction.
Locals in the area objected to the inspection and stated that they will not allow the inspection to go ahead in the absence of the complainant.
The locals contended that they wanted to know the identity of the complainant and whether he belonged to their ward, arguing that only a person from the locality had the right to object to an illegal construction and not someone from outside the ward. The matter took an ugly turn when two witnesses came forward to sign the panchanama prepared by the secretary. When confronted by the locals, one of the witnesses informed that he has been sent by the complainant to stand as witness. This infuriated the gathering, who claimed that everything was pre-planned by the ruling panel as an act of “revenge” on an opposition panch, as it was his ancestral house.
Later, the locals confronted the Sarpanch and the Secretary, forcing the secretary to postpone the inspection. However, when the Sarpanch and her team were leaving the area, the locals blocked their vehicle and did not allow them to leave and allegedly made derogatory remarks against her. It was only after the police arrived that the vehicle was allowed to leave the site.
The Deputy Sarpanch then filed a police complaint, following which three persons were arrested and subsequently released on bail. Police sources informed that the three were arrested under sections 353 and 341 of 504 read with 34 IPC, which are bailable offences.
