The trigger for this open edit is a despondent sense of dejavu. We keep coming back to report stories of horrific sadness and state condoned brutality. But if the manner in which this BJP government has dealt with the alleged Siolim rape case, where the victim, is being hounded and a morcha is being planned to her residence, this “shame” is only to be expected. This is how this government works.
Wrong doers, the corrupt and the criminal have a free run. The powerful get state backing- whether it is for Golf course and villa projects in Tiracol, or for Marinas or for massive construction contracts issued without tenders to blue eyed contractors, or getting contentious mega projects passed like the one in Carmona, inspite of massive people’s protests. The Chief Minister boasted recently that the BJP government would rule for 25 years. If by some cruel miracle, it does, there will be no Goa left to rule. And there is a clear reason why.
Any government which cannot protect the weakest, most vulnerable, economically backward and the poor and puts them at the mercy of the merciless, the powerful, the rich and those see Goa only as a business, cannot call itself as a “ruler”. In any case, a government which is merciful, and works for the people never calls itself a ruler, but a servant. Mr Parsekar obviously does not understand these nuances. While we will recall cases that we have followed and been with, while others have never been interested in and the government has ignored, let us pause for a moment at see what is happening in Siolim. A ten year old girl, a student of a school in the village was terrified to go back. She narrated to her mother in detail how she was molested repeatedly and abused sexually in a manner which falls completely in the purview of rape, by a school teacher. The narrative and the fear of a poor girl and her distraught mother has been ignored and the alleged rapist, a school teacher roams free. Why? Is it because government has no guts to arrest a school teacher, because he practices the same ‘noble’ profession the Chief Minister does? The state has given no justice to victims of rape or molestation unless the perpetrator is a high profile media personality like Tarun Tejpal, who was chased down by the Goa police to Delhi and arrested and brought back. But never in the past has anyone had the temerity to organise a solidarity meeting for the accused rapist. The line of protest of ex school students of the same Siolim school is bizarre- there has not been single complaint against the teacher, the victim is in the primary section while the teacher is not, and the accused teacher is of impeccable character. Now will ex students play judge or should the police investigate and secure a conviction? If the accused rapist is indeed innocent, he will be free, but he is surely an accused and in a rape case he should be behind bars forthwith. Sorry, but he victim’s word has to prevail, not a body of ex students saying their teacher is innocent.
But under Parsekar’s government, supporters of the accused rapist are threatening to take a morcha to the home of the victim girl. This is a criminal violation of the Children’s Act and threatens the protection given to rape victims by law. But in this BJP raaj, supporters of accused rapists seem to have a voice, victims don’t.
But this isn’t an isolated case. In Camurlim, over a year ago, a single mother was dragged, brutally beaten, a road inserted into her private parts and literally left to die. Ask the police what happened to the case. It has simply fallen off the radar. Her rapist and his female relative still threaten this woman. In Bicholim a police constable dragged a woman by the hair on the road in full view of people, and beat her up. This policeman is still in the service of the Goa government. We could go on and on.
These acts are not just failures of the police. These are power games sanctioned by those in power. It is the same power game which handles cases of corruption. After the hectic pace in which the Louis Berger bribery charges were probed, why does it appear that there has been a lull? There indeed has been a lull. Are Mr Digambar Kamat’s prayers working? And is there a God in government which is helping him. While yes, the protection given by court prevents his arrest but do we know if all investigations are complete and the Crime Branch has signed sealed and delivered on the investigations. Has a full fledged probe begun on how the ill gotten wealth was used? Has the crime branch done a splendid investigation job, only to be stifled by the government which wants to see how this plays out politically before figuring out what to do with Mr Kamat? And while this happens, Churchill Alemao, not the principal accused still waits for bail to be out, in the same case, with the same charges and with the same set of witnesses saying bribes were handed over to him as well as Mr Kamat. When the courts grant bail on technical grounds, it is not the courts but the system that needs to be questioned. Did the Parsekar governments system help Kamat stay out and Alemao go in? Here again, the power of the government seems to be bent towards the powerful.
The government seems to have decided to blindly back those who “invest” and not listen to those who protest. So this has become a battle between the moneyed and the common man with the government with the moneyed. Where does the common man go. Look what is happening in Tiracol the site of the Leading Hotels’ Golf Course project. After being thoroughly exposed for cutting trees in Survey number 6 in Tiracol when they had no permission, and with the legality of the entire project under a heavy cloud, with the courts about to take some major decisions, the Chief Minister is openly backing the project proponents. The forest department, instead of protecting forests has become a tree felling department with rampant permissions given for felling trees to facilitate construction in mangrove filed areas.
While mega projects get cleared, Goan boys and girls have very few jobs. Wasn’t the purpose of bringing investment to create more jobs? But we are creating more misery and no jobs for locals. As we see more and more robberies rise, shouldn’t we ask if there is a link between joblessness and in increasing crime?
The underlying narrative here is that the all powerful state is only for the powerful. With no opposition and no voice or place for the weak, this government is assuming powers of a dictatorship wrapped in a very thin veil of democracy. And in true Narendra Modi style, the Chief Minister refuses to meet Herald on a one to one because he knows we will ask him the toughest questions. One of his media advisors informed one of our reporters “He will not meet Herald”. That’s fine. But he will have to meet the people of Goa in 2017. How long can he run from tough questions? This is still a democracy after all.
