By Dr Olav Albuquerque

GOA’S law and order situation has never been hunky dory despite claims from the government that all is well. Opposition leader Yuri Alemao alleged in the legislative assembly 10 days ago that IPS officers were seen in discos and casinos which were recorded in some videos. These videos have gone viral.
It is no secret that some of these IPS officers who sat in the DGP’s office at Panjim had the reputation of being corrupt. One brazen example was that of a former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sunil Garg, who allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs5 lakh to register an FIR in connection with a Rs1.5 crore cheating case.
In his complaint to Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar in 2016, Munnalal Halwai, a milk distributor, said he approached the IGP when the local police station refused to register his FIR over a land deal in which he was cheated. He alleged that his lawyer in connivance with a petrol pump dealer cheated him of a piece of land worth Rs1.15 crore.
This is quite plausible. Not all advocates in Goa or anywhere else for that matter are above board, this columnist has witnessed the lawyer of an opponent phoning the lawyer for the complainant, to ask him if he was ready to argue because the opponent’s client was asking why the case had made no progress after over six months.

ALEMAO FEARS
SPEAKING on the floor of the house on July 16, Alemao claimed the law and order situation in Goa was deteriorating and criminals no longer fear the police as law-enforcers. He stressed in the house that the people had lost faith in the law and order machinery in Goa. Many Goans have alleged that officers in-charge of police stations refuse to register FIRs even when cognizable crimes are reported to them.
This is a direct violation of the Supreme Court judgment in Lalita Kumari versus State of UP, wherein the judges declared the police were left with no choice but to register an FIR in cognizable crimes like murder, rape, cheating, dacoity. Goa has seen land prices spiraling, which is why there is rampant land grabbing with some panchayats being involved.
Panchas aspire for the post of sarpanch so they can identify which lands are vacant because the owners are dead or not interested in protecting their lands. In connivance with ministers, they grab these lands. The police refuse to register FIRs when the owners are cheated of their lands. Munalal Halwai is not an isolated case.
Referring to data on crimes against women, Alemao said there were 238 cases in 2020, 259 in 2021, 285 in 2022, 296 in 2023 and 154 from January 2024 till July 2024. Over the last five years, 1,230 cases of rape, molestation and kidnapping have been registered with only six culminating in convictions.
The Opposition leader pointed out that between 2020 and 2024, Goa registered 145 murders, as per the data tabled on the floor of the house. How many of these crimes will end in conviction is debatable, because the acquittal rate for the Department of Public Prosecutions is six times higher than the conviction rate.
This writer had the horrendous experience of a former director of prosecutions speaking disparagingly about a sitting chief judicial magistrate, who was promoted as a sessions judge and has got an outstanding record for being affable, apart from having an excellent academic record. This would have amounted to contempt of court had it been reported to the high court.
Alemao is discharging his duties as Leader of Opposition Leader but the law and order situation may not improve. Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant holds the home portfolio which is the most sensitive among all the portfolios. The Police and Department of Prosecutions both come under the home ministry which is headed by Chief Secretary Puneet Kumar Goel currently, an honest and straightforward IAS officer.

EXAMPLES
WITH the Director General of Police Jaspal Singh himself under a cloud after the illegal demolition of a house in Assagao village some time ago, there is little to expect. This is because when the top officer of the Goa Police himself set a wrong example, those down the line will have little to fear.
One example was that of PSI Narayan alias Rushal Pinge, who was earlier attached to the Sanguem police station. He was suspended for the second time for allegedly misappropriating some case papers when posted at the Ponda police station.
PSI Pinge was earlier suspended in 2021 following serious charges of bigamy and cheating by a woman from Vasco. SP Sucheta Dessai held a probe against him in August last year, declaring there was evidence of bigamy, fraud, cheating, possessing disproportionate assets and violation of conduct rules.
The inquiry officer SP Dessai recommended disciplinary action against the delinquent officer, who was then posted at the Agasaim Police Station. But he was transferred and posted at the Sanguem Police Station. This is just one example, but there are many more such cases where PSIs refuse to register FIRs knowing that nothing will happen to them.
So, Alemao is right in raising this issue in the Goa Legislative Assembly, but apart from random articles appearing in the media, nothing will improve.