Violence rocks Moti Dongor
*10 injured as gang unleashes terror *Residents demand action
HERALD REPORTER
MARGAO, DEC 28
Violence rocked the migrant inhabited Moti Dongor area of the commercial capital on Tuesday evening leaving more than 10 persons injured, including women and children, triggering tension and panic in the locality.
One victim, Maqbool, told newsmen at the Hospicio Hospital that the attack came from a 10-member group led by Bashir, an accused in the Margao swords seizure case.
Women and children were not spared either as the assailants unleashed a reign of terror on the hillock this evening. While six persons were rushed to the hospital, there were many, including women and children, who were assaulted at the hillock.
The Margao police immediately dispatched reinforcements on the hillock by deploying armed personnel of the Eagle force as a precautionary measure. Tension, however, prevailed atop the hillock as women and other residents demanded action against the assailants.
A bus load of residents from the hillock later descended demanding that the culprits be brought to book.
The injured were rushed to the Hospicio hospital and doctors attending on the injured said that Maqbool was amongst the persons who sustained head injuries in the attack.
Maqbool claimed he was attacked by the Sumo borne assailants while he was driving a route bus heading to Moti Dongor. “When the bus was heading to the hillock, the assailants attacked me. The passengers ran helter skelter. After they assaulted me with iron rods and dandas, I fled away for my life”, he told newsmen at the hospital.
The Sumo jeep was later damaged by the irate residents. “Bashir, Rafiq, Anwar, Rabani and others were allegedly involved in the attack”, he alleged.
A woman Shakira told newsmen that she and her minor children were attacked by the assailants with dandas. Another woman Muneera said she too was not spared by the gang and demanded action against the accused persons. She said her mangalsutra has been snatched by the accused and her house ransacked, causing a loss of Rs 1.20 lakh.
When contacted, Superintendent of Police, South Allan De Sa said he has directed Margao Police Inspector Santosh Desai to record the statement and immediately register a first information reporat (FIR) against all the accused persons. He said the police would initiate action against the accused as per law. Replying to a question, he said Desai along with a platoon is camping on the hillock as a precautionary measure.
Meanwhile, Desai said the police have so far arrested six persons and are on the look out for Bashir Sheikh and others. He said the today’s violence is the fall out of Monday’s incident atop the hillock.
Moti Dongor locality of Margao which has been a strong hold of the Chief Minister Digambar Kamat had been in the news since the municipal polls after rivals clashed on two-three occasions.
Police said the latest incident is a fall out of the ongoing rivalry between two groups inhabiting the hillock. Incidentally, both Bashir and Maqbool are amongst the accused charged by the police in the swords seizure case. While Bashir had supported Laxmikant Kamat, a cousin of the chief minister in the recent civic polls, Maqbool had thrown his weight behind candidate Iqbal.
