The most-wanted man during the lockdown
Gangster Zenito Cardozo’s surrender last week could have brought a sense of relief that the suspected prime conspirator in the shootout at St Cruz is finally in the custody of police.However, the accused’s surrender has raised eyebrows on the ability of the Police Department as Cardozo ends up surrendering rather than being caught by search teams.
Herald’s independent inquiry has revealed that following a series of raids and marathon questioning of his associates post June 20, Cardozo, through his “contacts”, had approached the police brass desiring to surrender. But his wish came with a rider that he should not be subjected to any beating in custody, a ‘proposal’ rebuked by an IPS officer.
Sources said his “contacts” were none other than some police officials. Sources told Herald that police officials of higher ranks would approach their superiors conveying Cardozo’s surrender proposal.
“Police higher-ups wanted to arrest him and therefore often turned down the surrender offer. A search operation continued and people suspected to be shielding him were quizzed,” the source said, while adding, “It’s surprising that an alleged deal between the accused and the police was struck. It also came as a surprise that these same police officials have thus far not faced any disciplinary action for alleged ties with a criminal.”
It thereafter came to the fore that these police officials being quizzed by their superiors denied direct links with Cardozo. “They would justify that the message from Cardozo came in from outsiders. This same message was being further conveyed to their seniors,” the source said.
As proposals were turned down, false alarms of Cardozo’s surrender would also fizzle. But there came a twist when Cardozo finally surrendered before the sub divisional police officer at Police Head Quarter on Wednesday.
Sources said discussions between the teams and superiors would allegedly be leaked to Cardozo resulting in a few failed search operations. The search teams after scanning through almost all his suspected hide-outs even travelled to neighbouring districts and returned with no success. The venue of discussing strategy for his arrest was later shifted from Ribandar outpost to Taleigao outpost.
Reliable sources have also revealed a constable’s close association with Cardozo. Questions are thus being raised on who are Cardozo’s informants within the department and if they are known, why is the department hesitant to take action against them.
“There was photographic evidence that Cardozo had attended a birthday party wherein the constable was also present. They have clicked pictures together. The photos were also on a social media account which was soon deleted. The constable was pulled up by senior officers but he faces no action,” the source said. Interestingly, the St Cruz case is being investigated by the Old Goa police.
Another development on which the police reportedly preferred to keep mum is the arrest of Cardozo’s right-hand man two days before the former’s surrender. “The man is also a known criminal and is associated with Cardozo for nearly 18 years. On intelligence inputs, he was picked up from his house and arrested,” the source said.
While a lot happened during the two and half months of investigation, the fear of crime in St Cruz and parts of North Goa reduced. Sources said that series of arrests before Cardozo’s surrender and unending search operations created a fear among other criminal entities of facing police flak.
The surrender, on the other hand, has discouraged some of the search team members, who have been on their toes to track his whereabouts.
