PANJIM: What makes Goa a safe destination for sex trafficking is that the Goa Police especially Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) doesn’t work on a Sunday and they don’t carry the records home so that they are not aware of what’s happening.
This is the curt reply of what the FRRO PI Sudesh Velip had to give to O Heraldo.
When O Heraldo called up DySP Nutan Verenkar and even sent a message to her, she failed to reply, but on asking the PI whether main kingpins behind the international sex racket Maria Dorcas alias Israelite, Wilkista Achista and one Olokpa, a Nigerian, were registered with them and what action the FRRO was taking against those overstaying and allegedly indulging in illegal activities in the State, the PI said, “Today is a Sunday and it is public holiday, and I don’t carry files home. I don’t know who am I speaking to? You go and question the Anjuna police.”
When O Heraldo questioned him whether Maria Dorcas was on the radar of the FRRO for overstaying, he once again pointed fingers at the Anjuna Police and said that it was their duty to see who is staying in its jurisdiction and find out who’s doing what.
He said abruptly, “If you want anything, come tomorrow and I will tell you.”
Another police official who spoke on the condition of anonymity stated that the FRRO office should put those foreigners with expired visas on their radar and trace them out, arrest them, put them in detention centres and then deport them to their respective countries.
It is imperative from the national security point of view, otherwise the State will turn into a banana republic and a safe haven for anti-social elements and terrorists, the senior police officer said.
At the time of registration at the FRRO office, the authorities there have to check the purpose of the foreigners’ stay in Goa and the reason for extending the same.
When O Heraldo asked whether the police had written to the immigration department to seek for corroborative details and also to prevent Olokpa, one of the accused from fleeing the country, the men in uniform replied that such departments remain closed on Saturdays and Sundays and hence it could not be done.
When questioned that this could be a gateway to the freedom of the accused, the police refused to comment.
Meanwhile, the identity of Maria Dorcas and Olokpa remains a mystery as the alleged trafficker neither has a passport nor a visa with her ever since she entered the country in 2019.
It is reportedly learnt that her accomplice Olokpa too doesn’t possess valid residential documents.
Sources also revealed that the police have written a letter to the banks and GPay to freeze their accounts and block the website ‘Massage Republic’.
It is also reportedly learnt that a team of Goa Police has also left to other parts of the state to look out for Olokpa, where the accused used to operate his flesh trade from.
Another police officer speaking on the condition of anonymity said that singling out a small hawaldar and shunting him to the Goa Reserve Police and letting other high and mighty involved in the case off the hook, shows that they department is not serious about initiating action against its own black sheep, which in turn implies that the department is shielding its blue-eyed boys.
When the sex trafficker is earning in lakhs per day at the cost of the innocent girls, she will definitely share her spoils with the police for protection, said a senior cop.
However, some senior personnel also questioned the dismal role of the anti-trafficking cell of the Goa Police and said that it is not serving the purpose it is meant for. “What are specialised units meant for, if not to handle crime?” they questioned.
Sources also alleged that there are unpleasant happenings at the Traffic Cell, with some persons completing their tenure and throwing their weight around by harassing the public at night.
It may be recalled that the sudden transfer of a Head Constable from the Anjuna Police Station to the Goa Reserve Police (GRP) Altinho-Panjim raised eyebrows of his alleged involvement in ‘protection money’ following the busting of the international sex trafficking racket on Friday.
The police officials claimed that the head constable was earlier transferred to the Colvale Police Station but was not relieved even as there are reports that he had refused to budge from his ‘comfortable posting’ in Anjuna. The officials stated that his transfer had nothing to do with the alleged international flesh trade wherein the police arrested two Kenyan women and rescued five girls who were forced into prostitution. When questioned as to how a cop who was transferred to the Colvale Police Station, was on Saturday unceremoniously shunted out and posted at GRP, the officials were tongue-tied and declined to comment.
Sources revealed that the red-faced department was contemplating action against the beat constable and a PSI towards whom the needle of suspicion points at, and more skeletons could tumble out of the sex racket closet.
Much would depend on the interrogation of the two Kenyans to spill the beans.
PI VELIP’S CURT REPLY TO O HERALDO
“Today is a Sunday and it is a public holiday, and I don’t carry files home... I don’t know who I am speaking to... You go and question the Anjuna police,” Velip said
“It is the duty of the Anjuna Police to see who is staying in its jurisdiction and find out who’s doing what,” he said, when O Heraldo questioned him whether Maria Dorcas, the main kingpin behind the international sex trade, was on the radar of the FRRO for overstaying.
“If you want anything, come tomorrow (Monday) and I will tell you,” he replied bluntly.