This is a steep slide from the 3rd position in the IJR 2020 after tumbling down from the top position in the IJR 2019 report. However, the Goa Police continues to fall from grace by showcasing that its tentacles reach far and beyond in notoriety.
O Heraldo has from time to time exposed the ugly truth of Goa Police’s involvement in felonious deeds - from drug-police nexus to police custodial punishment to the latest extortion allegations. In the latest, a family from Delhi while on a visit to Goa in April was forced to surrender a four-wheeler vehicle to Agasaim police and fend for themselves to make it to the Dabolim Airport. Their crime was they had been provided a private vehicle for rent; and the owner of the vehicle was made to pay Rs 5,000 through the GPay platform as a bribe to hush up the matter (For details,refer to the investigative reports published on O Heraldo’s May 5-6 editions).
Earlier this year in February, five personnel from the anti-terror squad (ATS) were caught on camera in an extortion scam demanding Rs 10 lakh from a businessman in Salcete. This led to the transfer of the police personnel from ATS to GRP, but nothing more happened.
In March, the club and restaurant owners had written to the Chief Minister about extortion by two men in exchange for permission to play loud music beyond 10 pm, however, that letter too was brushed aside and termed fake despite an MLA from the ruling dispensation backing the allegations. Following this, in his budget for the year, the CM announced that a Mobile App to report extortion will be launched soon to ensure that people have faith in the system, and that quick and coercive action can be initiated.
In April, it was brought to light that the police failed to register FIRs of rape of minors and the senior most police officer of Goa tried defending the outrageous act.
The present case of extortion from the four-wheeler owner has exposed the latest modus operandi of the police to extort money through a third-party payment system. The GPay account of a two-wheeler garage employee in Agasaim was used to transfer the money. The question thus arises is whether the government will direct the Goa Police to thoroughly investigate the matter or hush up the whole incident once again by delaying the investigation.
Under Section 384 of the IPC, the police should investigate the Gpay account of the garage owner for at least six months so that previous cash transactions if any can be found and investigated. Only a thorough probe will reveal how many victims were swindled by police in connivance with the garage onwer and how many times cash was transferred to the police by him. In fact, the garage owner should also be booked along with the police for conniving in the crime.
The government and the police department have compromised their integrity while they claim to stand against any illegalities. The sliding ranking of the State in relation to its capacity to deliver access to justice is increasingly diminishing the faith of the people in the system. When those who have been entrusted with the responsibility to protect turn rogues and begin to decay the system from within, then it is time for the government to reassure the people of the State by setting exemplary punishment as envisaged in the rule books. The government can no longer point fingers at external factors and shield rogue cops, and dream of zero crime in the State.