SUNDAY, JULY 07, 2024
The murder of 32-year-old Lionel Lobo on Tuesday evening sent shock waves across Cortalim, as one of their own youth had been bludgeoned to death with a cement block at an under-construction site adjacent to the national highway. Within 24 hours, the Verna police arrested the victim’s friend, 34-year-old Alex Coutinho, for the murder. However, the most shocking fact in the tragic incident is that the youth was murdered over a dispute that arose over a bottle of alcohol. After the murder, the accused who was also present at the crime scene attempted to mislead the public and later the police investigation.
Earlier this year, on April 12, in a heart-wrenching incident, the body of a five-year-old girl was discovered at a construction site in Vaddem, Vasco. The body was found in a suspicious condition with froth noticed coming out of the nose. Vasco police had arrested two labourers for allegedly raping and murdering the five-year-old child.
On April 5, a security guard was found dead under mysterious circumstances, allegedly having fallen from the eighth floor of a mega housing construction site in Sancoale. The victim’s family has raised suspicions surrounding the circumstances of the guard’s death.
On December 20, last year, a body of a woman, aged around 50 years and hailing from West Bengal, was discovered at a construction site in Marna, Siolim. Sources connected to the case had then hinted at a potential rivalry between the deceased and another male labourer at the construction site.
In the recent past there has been a lot of focus on the temporary structures around construction sites and scrapyards, as police has been rounding up alleged illegal immigrants from neighbouring countries who have failed to prove their antecedents. Apart from these under-construction sites, dilapidated bus shelters, abandoned construction sites, old bridges, isolated spaces around playgrounds, etc, have become favourite hotspots for anti-social and criminal activities. At times, after much follow-up and countless requests, police round up only a handful of them and let go with a warning, until a major crime is committed.
Whenever crimes such as those mentioned above are committed there is hue and cry for police patrolling in the area and the police does take cognisance; however, things are back to square one after a while. Therefore, while patrolling needs to be all through the calendar year at such isolated places as well as under-construction sites, there needs to some pre-requisite conditions that need to be in place whenever permissions are granted for construction sites or new projects, public as well as private. The most fundamental of these should be to obligate placing 24x7 security at such places; especially under-construction sites should be mandated to provide with security personnel round-the-clock. With technological advancements, the use of CCTVs has become an easy and affordable mode of keeping an eye at all places and from all angles, therefore the use of CCTVs should be mandated.
While the police are responsible for law and order in the State, people’s representatives also have a responsibility towards ensuring a crime-free society. Ward panchas in panchayats and councillors in municipal areas are the first point of contact as public representatives, so since they are well aware about the areas they represent, it should be imperative upon them to keep a close watch on the activities in the area. Lay people cannot be expected to directly intervene in public affairs, but as representatives, the goodwill should be used to keep anti-social elements at bay.
Goa is witnessing an upward trend in crimes committed against women and children, especially under the influence of alcohol and substance abuse. There needs to be greater efforts in ensuring public safety in private as well as public spaces and it can be achieved only through collective consciousness.
As Nelson Mandela said, “Safety and security don’t just happen; they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children - the most vulnerable citizens in our society - a life free of violence and fear.”
