"I couldn't believe it was the same girl' says man who found the minor
Preetu Nair , TNN
PANAJI: When he offered some eatables to a little girl standing outside his shop last Saturday, Umesh Dhavaskar, 49, did not realize he had known
her before or that he was going to be instrumental in saving the girl from an unimaginable horror.
"I just couldn't believe this was the same girl I had known for the last three years. The girl I had known was pretty and chirpy, the one I was seeing now, after a gap of almost six months was sad, thin and without the charm she had," says Dhavaskar, who runs a modest restaurant in Mapusa near the bus stand.
"Last Saturday at about 9 am I saw a small girl standing outside my shop. I thought she was waiting for someone. An hour later, I noticed her again. When I approached her and asked her if she was waiting for someone, she got emotional and said, I am hungry'," recalls Dhavaskar, who then offered her some snacks.
While the girl was eating, an elderly motorcycle pilot Datta Salgaonkar walked into the restaurant and recognised her. "When he told me that this was the same girl who would walk into my restaurant often with her mother, smiling, cheerful and full of life, I was shocked. She looked so different. The girl I knew had thick hair, beautiful features and was healthy. But the girl who sat in front of me was lean, with very short hair and appeared disillusioned with life," said Dhavaskar.
Dhavaskar had no knowledge of the girl's injuries at that time. It was only after the girl spilled her tale of woes to Salgaonkar and his wife that this came to be known. "I was shocked when I heard her story and saw her wounds. I have three young daughters. I just couldn't believe that a human being can treat a child like this," he said.
He added, "I called the police and said, Here is a girl in dismay standing in my shop. If you can help, do help her'." The Mapusa police came within 15 minutes to help the minor, he added.
People in the vicinity knew the child and her mother, who worked as a daily wage worker at construction sites. They allege that the mother was an alcoholic and would often beat the minor. Incidentally, the minor's mother, who couldn't be traced, returned to Goa on Thursday and the police recorded her statement on Thursday.
"The mother said she had come from Gadak to meet her daughter as she was in the hospital. She also said that she was aware that her daughter was working as a domestic help at the Pednekar residence at Porvorim," says Dhavaskar.
1 August 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Saturday, August 01, 2009
Goa: No funds from state govt for swine flu
No funds from state govt for swine flu
TNN 1 August 2009
PANAJI: Even as the number of A(H1N1) cases in India touched 475, with about six cases in Goa, the state nodal officer for swine flu Dr Rajendra Tamba has issued a press statement through the director of information appealing to the people not to contact him for information on swine flu, since he has no funds to carry out any activity related to the disease.
The release states, "The expenses so far were made from funds under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP) received from the government of India, which are now exhausted. Incidentally, 19 contract staff working under IDSP will be going without their salary this month as their funds were utilised for swine flu activities. No money has been received from the state government despite repeated requests. The amount asked for was Rs 10 lakh."
TOI had a fortnight back reported that Dr Tamba had written to chief minister Digambar Kamat asking to be relieved from the post. He had reportedly alleged in the letter that the state health authorities were not cooperating with him and not doing enough for the quarantined patients. It is reliably learnt that in the letter he had asked for a dedicated ambulance to shift swine flu patients, as a new driver was being exposed to swine flu each time.
The government of India guidelines regarding swine flu state there have to be dedicated doctors, nurses and paramedical workers taking care of the patients. This is required as medical staff dealing with confirmed or suspected cases of swine flu are at a greater risk of catching the infection. In Goa, these have been violated as doctors and nurses who take care of swine flu patients also deal with the other patients in the hospital, besides handling emergencies.
Also there are no separate ambulances for swine flu patients. "There is no money to hire vehicles to send people to collect samples and send them to Delhi for examination," said sources.
So far, a total of 14,439 passengers, 118 of them being international passengers, have been screened at the airport. Another 21 persons who arrived by ship at Mormugao port were also screened.
1 August 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
TNN 1 August 2009
PANAJI: Even as the number of A(H1N1) cases in India touched 475, with about six cases in Goa, the state nodal officer for swine flu Dr Rajendra Tamba has issued a press statement through the director of information appealing to the people not to contact him for information on swine flu, since he has no funds to carry out any activity related to the disease.
The release states, "The expenses so far were made from funds under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP) received from the government of India, which are now exhausted. Incidentally, 19 contract staff working under IDSP will be going without their salary this month as their funds were utilised for swine flu activities. No money has been received from the state government despite repeated requests. The amount asked for was Rs 10 lakh."
TOI had a fortnight back reported that Dr Tamba had written to chief minister Digambar Kamat asking to be relieved from the post. He had reportedly alleged in the letter that the state health authorities were not cooperating with him and not doing enough for the quarantined patients. It is reliably learnt that in the letter he had asked for a dedicated ambulance to shift swine flu patients, as a new driver was being exposed to swine flu each time.
The government of India guidelines regarding swine flu state there have to be dedicated doctors, nurses and paramedical workers taking care of the patients. This is required as medical staff dealing with confirmed or suspected cases of swine flu are at a greater risk of catching the infection. In Goa, these have been violated as doctors and nurses who take care of swine flu patients also deal with the other patients in the hospital, besides handling emergencies.
Also there are no separate ambulances for swine flu patients. "There is no money to hire vehicles to send people to collect samples and send them to Delhi for examination," said sources.
So far, a total of 14,439 passengers, 118 of them being international passengers, have been screened at the airport. Another 21 persons who arrived by ship at Mormugao port were also screened.
1 August 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Friday, July 31, 2009
Broker made Rs 4,000, says abused child maid
Broker made Rs 4,000, says abused child maid
TNN
PANAJI: The grandmother of the minor girl employed as a maid at the Pednekar residence—where the 10-year-old was allegedly abused and burnt—was paid Rs 800 to send her to work. The middleman, a resident of Panaji, received Rs 4,000. This was revealed by the girl to the Goa State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (GSCPCR).
In her statement to the police and the GSCPCR, the minor, who is now recuperating at Goa Medical College and Hospital, said that a few months after her father died in 2008, she started living with her grandparents. One day a neighbour approached her grandmother with an offer for the girl to work as a maid. She first worked at a house in Panaji and later at the Pednekar household in Porvorim.
“My grandmother told me that I could go to work at this place. Then I was sent to work at a place in Panaji. It was from this place that Shubam (Pednekar) came and picked me up and took me to his residence,” the minor said. She also said that Pednekar had paid her earlier employer in Panaji Rs 4,000, and another Rs 800 to her grandmother.
GSCPCR chairperson Sameera Kazi said, “When we visited the girl in the hospital on Wednesday, we found that her grandfather had finally come to meet her. We asked her if she would like to be with her grandparents or with her mother. She said she didn’t want to be with any of them.” GSCPCR will now write to the police asking them not to leave the girl to her grandparents’ care. The girl’s mother, who used to live at Mapusa, has remained untraced.
30 July 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
TNN
PANAJI: The grandmother of the minor girl employed as a maid at the Pednekar residence—where the 10-year-old was allegedly abused and burnt—was paid Rs 800 to send her to work. The middleman, a resident of Panaji, received Rs 4,000. This was revealed by the girl to the Goa State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (GSCPCR).
In her statement to the police and the GSCPCR, the minor, who is now recuperating at Goa Medical College and Hospital, said that a few months after her father died in 2008, she started living with her grandparents. One day a neighbour approached her grandmother with an offer for the girl to work as a maid. She first worked at a house in Panaji and later at the Pednekar household in Porvorim.
“My grandmother told me that I could go to work at this place. Then I was sent to work at a place in Panaji. It was from this place that Shubam (Pednekar) came and picked me up and took me to his residence,” the minor said. She also said that Pednekar had paid her earlier employer in Panaji Rs 4,000, and another Rs 800 to her grandmother.
GSCPCR chairperson Sameera Kazi said, “When we visited the girl in the hospital on Wednesday, we found that her grandfather had finally come to meet her. We asked her if she would like to be with her grandparents or with her mother. She said she didn’t want to be with any of them.” GSCPCR will now write to the police asking them not to leave the girl to her grandparents’ care. The girl’s mother, who used to live at Mapusa, has remained untraced.
30 July 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
They didn’t really need a reason to torture her
They didn’t really need a reason to torture her
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: The first time she was “burnt” was for not doing the dishes. But the sad part is that there was no work to be done, all the dishes had
already been cleaned.
This is what a ten-year-old maid tortured by her employer has told the police. In her statement, the girl has also said that she was often beaten up or kicked in the stomach.
The girl, who incidentally belongs to a scheduled tribe, was also taunted about this. And now her alleged tormentors—Porvorim resident Audumber (Shubham) Pednekar, a civil engineer, his wife Minaxi and sister-in-law Tina—face charges under the Prevention of Atrocities (SC/ST) Act apart from charges under the IPC and the Goa Children’s Act.
While Audumber was arrested and later freed on bail, Minaxi and Tina are absconding.
Sources said the minor, who lost her father last year, was originally from Gadag, Hubli, but was living with her grandmother in Goa. About seven months back, a neighbour approached her grandmother and brought her to the Pednekar residence to work as a domestic help.
“She told us that initially the family was fine and she was asked to do all the work. The torture started a month later, when Tina allegedly started hitting her with a wire for not cleaning utensils or not mopping the floor or for failing to wash clothes on time.”
The girl would then be forced to sleep in the balcony. Her employers would lock the door from inside and open it only in the morning, sources said.
According to the victim, she was first “burnt” for not washing utensils even when there was no utensil in the sink to wash. “The girl said that Tina took a hot spoon from a stove and put it to her face,” sources said.
The girl was once allegedly kicked on the stomach by Audumber for failing to remove a stain on his trousers. “When she fell on a stone slab in the bathroom (used for washing clothes), she was further beaten with a pipe from the washing machine,” say police sources.
The final straw, the police said, was when the girl drank the couple’s seven-month-old twins’ medicine. “I was feeling very sick (with fever) and still had to do the work. As they were not giving me any medicine I took the children’s medicine,” the girl told the police.
When Minaxi learnt of this, she told the minor that she would have to burn her. The girl said that Minaxi then closed the door and windows to ensure that no one heard the girl’s screams and placed a heated flat steel spoon on her leg, back and hand, leaving burns and blisters, police said.
Even as the girl—without medical attention—writhed in pain for days, the family forced her to work. On Saturday, when Minaxi was feeding the babies and Tina had gone to the bathroom, the girl ran away.
“Since the girl is from a scheduled tribe, we have added Section 3 (1) (11) of Prevention of Atrocities (SC/ST) Act, besides sections of the IPC and Children’s Act against the three accused. Investigations have been transferred to DySP Gundu Naik,” said police spokesperson SP A V Deshpande.
Meanwhile, the girl, who had suffered burn injuries on her back and thighs, is recuperating at Goa Medical College and Hospital.
GMC doctors on Monday said she had suffered “simple injuries”, but didn’t specify the amount of injuries on her body.
Unhappy with this, the police have written to the GMC dean requesting a complete medical examination. “The dean has constituted a medical board that will examine the girl on Wednesday for all possible injuries, both old and new,” added Deshpande.
Pednekar’s advocate Damodar Dhond said, “The girl’s medical certificate has opined that she has simple injuries. This is not a serious offence. I am not aware that a new section has been added. We have filed for anticipatory bail for the two women and will wait for the reply from the police,” he said.
“We will oppose the anticipatory bail application of the two co-accused. We are also going to file a revision application against the bail granted to Pednekar,” said Deshpande.
29 July 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: The first time she was “burnt” was for not doing the dishes. But the sad part is that there was no work to be done, all the dishes had
already been cleaned.
This is what a ten-year-old maid tortured by her employer has told the police. In her statement, the girl has also said that she was often beaten up or kicked in the stomach.
The girl, who incidentally belongs to a scheduled tribe, was also taunted about this. And now her alleged tormentors—Porvorim resident Audumber (Shubham) Pednekar, a civil engineer, his wife Minaxi and sister-in-law Tina—face charges under the Prevention of Atrocities (SC/ST) Act apart from charges under the IPC and the Goa Children’s Act.
While Audumber was arrested and later freed on bail, Minaxi and Tina are absconding.
Sources said the minor, who lost her father last year, was originally from Gadag, Hubli, but was living with her grandmother in Goa. About seven months back, a neighbour approached her grandmother and brought her to the Pednekar residence to work as a domestic help.
“She told us that initially the family was fine and she was asked to do all the work. The torture started a month later, when Tina allegedly started hitting her with a wire for not cleaning utensils or not mopping the floor or for failing to wash clothes on time.”
The girl would then be forced to sleep in the balcony. Her employers would lock the door from inside and open it only in the morning, sources said.
According to the victim, she was first “burnt” for not washing utensils even when there was no utensil in the sink to wash. “The girl said that Tina took a hot spoon from a stove and put it to her face,” sources said.
The girl was once allegedly kicked on the stomach by Audumber for failing to remove a stain on his trousers. “When she fell on a stone slab in the bathroom (used for washing clothes), she was further beaten with a pipe from the washing machine,” say police sources.
The final straw, the police said, was when the girl drank the couple’s seven-month-old twins’ medicine. “I was feeling very sick (with fever) and still had to do the work. As they were not giving me any medicine I took the children’s medicine,” the girl told the police.
When Minaxi learnt of this, she told the minor that she would have to burn her. The girl said that Minaxi then closed the door and windows to ensure that no one heard the girl’s screams and placed a heated flat steel spoon on her leg, back and hand, leaving burns and blisters, police said.
Even as the girl—without medical attention—writhed in pain for days, the family forced her to work. On Saturday, when Minaxi was feeding the babies and Tina had gone to the bathroom, the girl ran away.
“Since the girl is from a scheduled tribe, we have added Section 3 (1) (11) of Prevention of Atrocities (SC/ST) Act, besides sections of the IPC and Children’s Act against the three accused. Investigations have been transferred to DySP Gundu Naik,” said police spokesperson SP A V Deshpande.
Meanwhile, the girl, who had suffered burn injuries on her back and thighs, is recuperating at Goa Medical College and Hospital.
GMC doctors on Monday said she had suffered “simple injuries”, but didn’t specify the amount of injuries on her body.
Unhappy with this, the police have written to the GMC dean requesting a complete medical examination. “The dean has constituted a medical board that will examine the girl on Wednesday for all possible injuries, both old and new,” added Deshpande.
Pednekar’s advocate Damodar Dhond said, “The girl’s medical certificate has opined that she has simple injuries. This is not a serious offence. I am not aware that a new section has been added. We have filed for anticipatory bail for the two women and will wait for the reply from the police,” he said.
“We will oppose the anticipatory bail application of the two co-accused. We are also going to file a revision application against the bail granted to Pednekar,” said Deshpande.
29 July 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Soiled sheets, torn gown greet minor
Soiled sheets, torn gown greet minor
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: The ugly side of Goa Medical College and Hospital was once again exposed when the ten-year-old victim of child abuse was admitted on
Saturday. She was given soiled sheets and a torn gown to wear, until members of the Goa State Commission for Protection of Child Rights intervened on Monday.
GSCPCR chairperson Sameera Kazi said, “When we visited the girl in hospital on Monday, we saw that she had been given a soiled bedsheet and a dirty and torn gown to wear. We directed the nurse to take care of the minor and change the soiled clothes, which they did after some initial reluctance.”
According to sources, the girl spent the forst night in the soiled clothes in which she was brought to hospital by the police. It was only on Sunday that she was given a dirty and torn gown at GMC.
Incidentally, health minister Vishwajit Rane has often stressed that adequate arrangements should be made to ensure that patients are not given soiled sheets or torn gowns.
Reacting to the treatment meted out to the child, Rane said, “I am shocked. I am told by the joint director accounts that 6,000 plus bed sheets have been sent to GMC on Monday. I will look into the matter.”
When contacted, GMC medical superintendent Dr Rajan Kunkolienkar said, “I have personally ensured that she is given the best care possible. To provide better care and ensure that visitors don’t disturb her, we are shifting her to a private room.”
Sources said that when at first Kazi confronted the room nurse about the soiled sheets, the duty nurse insisted that the sheets were changed regularly. But the child revealed that it had not been changed since the time she had been brought to the hospital.
Kazi told TOI, “We were told that the staff was applying medicine on her. But when I opened the silver tube, we found that the seal had not been broken.” Interestingly, the doctor treating the minor has asked NGO Scan to purchase the silver
X tube and an injection as the same was not available in the hospital.
The GSCPCR recorded the girl’s statement on Tuesday evening and will conduct a separate inquiry in the incident of child abuse.
29 July, 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: The ugly side of Goa Medical College and Hospital was once again exposed when the ten-year-old victim of child abuse was admitted on
Saturday. She was given soiled sheets and a torn gown to wear, until members of the Goa State Commission for Protection of Child Rights intervened on Monday.
GSCPCR chairperson Sameera Kazi said, “When we visited the girl in hospital on Monday, we saw that she had been given a soiled bedsheet and a dirty and torn gown to wear. We directed the nurse to take care of the minor and change the soiled clothes, which they did after some initial reluctance.”
According to sources, the girl spent the forst night in the soiled clothes in which she was brought to hospital by the police. It was only on Sunday that she was given a dirty and torn gown at GMC.
Incidentally, health minister Vishwajit Rane has often stressed that adequate arrangements should be made to ensure that patients are not given soiled sheets or torn gowns.
Reacting to the treatment meted out to the child, Rane said, “I am shocked. I am told by the joint director accounts that 6,000 plus bed sheets have been sent to GMC on Monday. I will look into the matter.”
When contacted, GMC medical superintendent Dr Rajan Kunkolienkar said, “I have personally ensured that she is given the best care possible. To provide better care and ensure that visitors don’t disturb her, we are shifting her to a private room.”
Sources said that when at first Kazi confronted the room nurse about the soiled sheets, the duty nurse insisted that the sheets were changed regularly. But the child revealed that it had not been changed since the time she had been brought to the hospital.
Kazi told TOI, “We were told that the staff was applying medicine on her. But when I opened the silver tube, we found that the seal had not been broken.” Interestingly, the doctor treating the minor has asked NGO Scan to purchase the silver
X tube and an injection as the same was not available in the hospital.
The GSCPCR recorded the girl’s statement on Tuesday evening and will conduct a separate inquiry in the incident of child abuse.
29 July, 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Monday, July 27, 2009
Engineer arrested for torturing minor girl
Engineer arrested for torturing minor girl
TNN
Photo credits:Anil Lad
PANAJI: In a gruesome case of child abuse, a ten year old girl employed as a maid in a house at Porvorim was admitted to the Goa Medical College and Hospital with burn injuries on her thighs and back.
Porvorim police have arrested her employer Audumber (Shubham) Pednekar, a civil engineer by profession, and registered a case under section 324 read with 34 of IPC and section 7(c) and 8 (2) of the Goa Children's Act against him.
Audumber's wife, Minaxi and his sister-in-law Tina have been named as co-accused in the case, but are yet to be arrested. Porvorim police said that the minor girl, employed as a maid at Pednekar's house, was punished for allegedly "stealing" the medicine of their seven month old twins and drinking it as the girl was feeling unwell.
The matter came to light on Saturday when the minor, tired of the alleged repeated beatings and unable to bear the torture, escaped from Pednekar's house in Soccoro and reached Mapusa. At Mapusa she asked a shopkeeper for some money to eat something. Seeing her condition the shop owner informed the Mapusa police who arrived immediately.
At the police station the cops found that the girl could barely sit as she had burn injuries on her back and thighs. They immediately contacted an NGO who took the child to Porvorim police station and lodged a complaint against the three.
In her complaint director of NGO, SCAN Audrey Pinto said that since the past two or three months the three accused have been allegedly assaulting the minor girl with cable wires and also burned her placing a hot, flat steel frying pan on the girl's thighs and back resulting in the burn injuries.
Police said they are yet to record the girl's statement as she is recuperating in hospital. Sources also said the girl revealed to the NGO that she is from Karnataka and that seven months back her mother had kept her in the house as a maid. However, her mother who earlier lived in Mapusa could not be traced.
27 July 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Ghajini-inspired spurned lover planned kidnap
Ghajini-inspired spurned lover planned kidnap
Preetu Nair, TNN 26 July 2009,
PANAJI: Srinivas Venkatesh, a hardware engineer who likened himself to the heartbroken, revenge-seeking hero of Ghajini, meticulously planned the abduction of Sayed Aiyaz Azgar from Chicalim, police sources told TOI on Saturday.
The 27-year-old native of Andhra Pradesh, arrested on Saturday morning, considered Aiyaz to be one of the "friends" responsible for his 'girlfriend' breaking up with him. His motive in kidnapping, police sources said, was not just the ransom of Rs 30 lakh, but to eventually kill Aiyaz in "revenge".
Venkatesh, who came to Goa in 1997, last worked as a systems administrator for a private firm. Residing in Vasco, he met Aiyaz and three of his friends and befriended the lot. Through them, he met a local girl in 2008 with whom he fell in love. The girl was looking for a call centre job and Venkatesh promised to help her get one. Claiming to have good contacts in the BPO industry, he started getting close to her.
"They went on dates, talked on the phone and were in regular touch over a social networking site," said police sources. However, things turned sour when Venkatesh started getting possessive and obsessive about her. He abused her when she refused to marry him or to have a physical relationship with him, said sources.
July 26, The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair, TNN 26 July 2009,
PANAJI: Srinivas Venkatesh, a hardware engineer who likened himself to the heartbroken, revenge-seeking hero of Ghajini, meticulously planned the abduction of Sayed Aiyaz Azgar from Chicalim, police sources told TOI on Saturday.
The 27-year-old native of Andhra Pradesh, arrested on Saturday morning, considered Aiyaz to be one of the "friends" responsible for his 'girlfriend' breaking up with him. His motive in kidnapping, police sources said, was not just the ransom of Rs 30 lakh, but to eventually kill Aiyaz in "revenge".
Venkatesh, who came to Goa in 1997, last worked as a systems administrator for a private firm. Residing in Vasco, he met Aiyaz and three of his friends and befriended the lot. Through them, he met a local girl in 2008 with whom he fell in love. The girl was looking for a call centre job and Venkatesh promised to help her get one. Claiming to have good contacts in the BPO industry, he started getting close to her.
"They went on dates, talked on the phone and were in regular touch over a social networking site," said police sources. However, things turned sour when Venkatesh started getting possessive and obsessive about her. He abused her when she refused to marry him or to have a physical relationship with him, said sources.
July 26, The Times of India, Goa edition
Health department yet to fully wake up to swine flu scourge
Health department yet to fully wake up to swine flu scourge
TNN
PANAJI: A nine-year-old girl from Sharjah, UAE, who had arrived in Goa on Saturday to attend her cousin's birthday celebrations, was admitted to the isolation ward of Goa Medical College and hospital at Bambolim as she was suspected to have contracted the swine flu virus.
But, shockingly, she was shifted from the Dabolim airport to GMC in an ambulance that is used to ferry critically ill patients and accident victims.
This incident has highlighted the fact that despite six confirmed cases of swine flu in Goa, there is not a single ambulance allotted for the use of swine flu patients. What's even worse, is that there is no sanitization of the vehicle done after it is used for moving swine flu patients, said health officials.
The health officials pointed out that this is in contravention of the central government's swine flu clinical management protocol and infection control guidelines, which clearly state that the once a patient is admitted to a hospital, the interior and exterior of the ambulance and reusable patient care equipment needs to be sanitized using sodium hypochlorite/quaternary ammonium compounds.
Incidentally, last week, the health department's nodal officer for swine flu, Dr Rajendra Tamba, had written to the chief minister asking to be relieved of his duties. He had reportedly alleged in the letter that the state health authorities were not cooperating with him and not doing enough for quarantined patients.
It is also reliably learnt that in the letter Dr Tamba also mentioned that despite asking for one dedicated ambulance to shift swine flu patients, everytime a new driver was being exposed to the deadly disease. But, even a week later, nothing has changed.
Although World Health Organisation (WHO) states that there should be a separate doctor and nurse for a quarantine ward, in Chicalim the duty nurse and doctor
continue to take care of swine flu patients and also those suffering from other ailments. Sources said that even one and a half months after the first swine flu case was detected, there are still no pillows for patients at Chicalim Cottage Hospital.
When contacted, Dr Tamba said, "The health secretary has been really supportive and he has promised to improve the situation at the earliest." Health secretary Sanjay Kumar Srivastava, who is also the chief secretary, told TOI that the "government is looking into the issue and it will be sorted out soon".
Health authorities also reveal that there has been not a single continuing medical education (CME) programme on swine flu organized for government doctors and support staff.
"Due to this, doctors don't know when a patient has to be treated as a suspected case or where to send them and precautions that need to be taken to ensure that a patient doesn't spread the virus," said a senior government doctor.
Take the case of a middle aged British tourist who went to a health centre in North Goa with severe cough on Saturday morning. The doctor on duty asked her to go to GMC's pathology department to check for swine flu.
From the pathology department, she was sent to medicine department and then to the hospital's casualty ward, where they did not know whether or not to send her to the swine flu isolation ward.
However, the British tourist was later quietly discharged after the GMC doctors found that the woman, who had arrived in the state a month ago, had been suffering from cough and cold since the last few months.
26 July 2009,The Times of India, Goa edition
TNN
PANAJI: A nine-year-old girl from Sharjah, UAE, who had arrived in Goa on Saturday to attend her cousin's birthday celebrations, was admitted to the isolation ward of Goa Medical College and hospital at Bambolim as she was suspected to have contracted the swine flu virus.
But, shockingly, she was shifted from the Dabolim airport to GMC in an ambulance that is used to ferry critically ill patients and accident victims.
This incident has highlighted the fact that despite six confirmed cases of swine flu in Goa, there is not a single ambulance allotted for the use of swine flu patients. What's even worse, is that there is no sanitization of the vehicle done after it is used for moving swine flu patients, said health officials.
The health officials pointed out that this is in contravention of the central government's swine flu clinical management protocol and infection control guidelines, which clearly state that the once a patient is admitted to a hospital, the interior and exterior of the ambulance and reusable patient care equipment needs to be sanitized using sodium hypochlorite/quaternary ammonium compounds.
Incidentally, last week, the health department's nodal officer for swine flu, Dr Rajendra Tamba, had written to the chief minister asking to be relieved of his duties. He had reportedly alleged in the letter that the state health authorities were not cooperating with him and not doing enough for quarantined patients.
It is also reliably learnt that in the letter Dr Tamba also mentioned that despite asking for one dedicated ambulance to shift swine flu patients, everytime a new driver was being exposed to the deadly disease. But, even a week later, nothing has changed.
Although World Health Organisation (WHO) states that there should be a separate doctor and nurse for a quarantine ward, in Chicalim the duty nurse and doctor
continue to take care of swine flu patients and also those suffering from other ailments. Sources said that even one and a half months after the first swine flu case was detected, there are still no pillows for patients at Chicalim Cottage Hospital.
When contacted, Dr Tamba said, "The health secretary has been really supportive and he has promised to improve the situation at the earliest." Health secretary Sanjay Kumar Srivastava, who is also the chief secretary, told TOI that the "government is looking into the issue and it will be sorted out soon".
Health authorities also reveal that there has been not a single continuing medical education (CME) programme on swine flu organized for government doctors and support staff.
"Due to this, doctors don't know when a patient has to be treated as a suspected case or where to send them and precautions that need to be taken to ensure that a patient doesn't spread the virus," said a senior government doctor.
Take the case of a middle aged British tourist who went to a health centre in North Goa with severe cough on Saturday morning. The doctor on duty asked her to go to GMC's pathology department to check for swine flu.
From the pathology department, she was sent to medicine department and then to the hospital's casualty ward, where they did not know whether or not to send her to the swine flu isolation ward.
However, the British tourist was later quietly discharged after the GMC doctors found that the woman, who had arrived in the state a month ago, had been suffering from cough and cold since the last few months.
26 July 2009,The Times of India, Goa edition
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Rabies killed 11 in 2008, says Vishwajit
Rabies killed 11 in 2008, says Vishwajit
TNN
PANAJI: Last year, 11 persons in Goa died due to rabies — the highest in the state in the last five years. Replying to an unstarred question by Mapusa MLA Francis D'Souza, health minister Vishwajit Rane said rabies has claimed two lives in the first five months of this year, adding that 108 cases of rabies had been reported till May 2009.
Rabies, a zoonotic disease (transmitted to humans from animals) is caused by a virus. It infects domestic as well as wild animals, and is spread to people through close contact with saliva (via bites or scratches) of an infected dog, cat etc. In 2008, 192 cases of rabies were recorded. In 2007, the figure stood at 223, with 2 deaths registered
24 July 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
TNN
PANAJI: Last year, 11 persons in Goa died due to rabies — the highest in the state in the last five years. Replying to an unstarred question by Mapusa MLA Francis D'Souza, health minister Vishwajit Rane said rabies has claimed two lives in the first five months of this year, adding that 108 cases of rabies had been reported till May 2009.
Rabies, a zoonotic disease (transmitted to humans from animals) is caused by a virus. It infects domestic as well as wild animals, and is spread to people through close contact with saliva (via bites or scratches) of an infected dog, cat etc. In 2008, 192 cases of rabies were recorded. In 2007, the figure stood at 223, with 2 deaths registered
24 July 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Monday, July 20, 2009
Cops unable to trace missing Russian
Cops unable to trace missuing Russian
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: More than six months after Russian national, Victor Pomerantsev, who was staying in Goa without valid documents, was discharged from the Institute of Psychiatry and Human Behaviour (IPHB), the Goa police is still clueless about his whereabouts.
Even as the Russian consulate in Mumbai waits to repatriate the Russian national, the Goa police have sent wireless to all police stations and have asked cops to check Victor's whereabouts. The matter came to light in April 2009, when the Russian consulate official went to the Goa police's foreigner's registration office (FRO) to seek permission for Victor to leave the country'.
Victor was admitted to IPHB on June 11, 2008 and his illness was diagnosed as substance induced psychotic disorder. At IPHB, Victor kept repeating that he doesn't want to leave the country, "because he loves India". His visa expired in September 2007.
IPHB medical superintendent B S Cuncoliencar said, "He was admitted to the hospital for observation and treatment. Days before his discharge we informed Calangute police that the patient was fit to be discharged. But there was no response and as the doctor treating him gave a certificate stating that he is fit for discharge, we discharged him".
Incidentally, the Goa police was aware that the IPHB had decided to discharge Victor, as indicated by a letter written by SP (FRO) to the Russian authorities in November 2008, with a request to urgently repatriate Victor. The SP (FRO) wrote, "The office is now in receipt of letter from PI Calangute, wherein it is informed that the foreign national is now fit for discharge and doesn't require further hospitalization and requested to take his custody back".
The letter added, "To urgently take up repatriation of the Russian national or the representative of the Russian embassy in Goa may be urgently contacted and directed to take custody of the foreign national and necessary arrangements be made to repatriate the foreign national to his own country". But neither the police nor the Russian authorities took custody of Victor.
Said an official from FRO, "The process of Victor's repatriation is on. After he was discharged from IPHB, his present whereabouts are not known. The minute he is traced we will proceed with repatriation. We have flashed wireless messages to all police stations and asked them to provide information on his whereabouts".
Police sources said that he was admitted to the IPHB following a complaint from the Calangute police that an "unknown male, appearing to be a foreigner giving all vague answers, of unsound mind was wandering in the market and creating a nuisance in public places." He was first picked up by the Mapusa police for being a "public nuisance" and admitted to the IPHB in March, 2008, for almost 25 days. Later in April he was picked up by the Calangute police and sent to the IPHB. He was again picked up by the Calangute police in June.
20 July 2009,The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: More than six months after Russian national, Victor Pomerantsev, who was staying in Goa without valid documents, was discharged from the Institute of Psychiatry and Human Behaviour (IPHB), the Goa police is still clueless about his whereabouts.
Even as the Russian consulate in Mumbai waits to repatriate the Russian national, the Goa police have sent wireless to all police stations and have asked cops to check Victor's whereabouts. The matter came to light in April 2009, when the Russian consulate official went to the Goa police's foreigner's registration office (FRO) to seek permission for Victor to leave the country'.
Victor was admitted to IPHB on June 11, 2008 and his illness was diagnosed as substance induced psychotic disorder. At IPHB, Victor kept repeating that he doesn't want to leave the country, "because he loves India". His visa expired in September 2007.
IPHB medical superintendent B S Cuncoliencar said, "He was admitted to the hospital for observation and treatment. Days before his discharge we informed Calangute police that the patient was fit to be discharged. But there was no response and as the doctor treating him gave a certificate stating that he is fit for discharge, we discharged him".
Incidentally, the Goa police was aware that the IPHB had decided to discharge Victor, as indicated by a letter written by SP (FRO) to the Russian authorities in November 2008, with a request to urgently repatriate Victor. The SP (FRO) wrote, "The office is now in receipt of letter from PI Calangute, wherein it is informed that the foreign national is now fit for discharge and doesn't require further hospitalization and requested to take his custody back".
The letter added, "To urgently take up repatriation of the Russian national or the representative of the Russian embassy in Goa may be urgently contacted and directed to take custody of the foreign national and necessary arrangements be made to repatriate the foreign national to his own country". But neither the police nor the Russian authorities took custody of Victor.
Said an official from FRO, "The process of Victor's repatriation is on. After he was discharged from IPHB, his present whereabouts are not known. The minute he is traced we will proceed with repatriation. We have flashed wireless messages to all police stations and asked them to provide information on his whereabouts".
Police sources said that he was admitted to the IPHB following a complaint from the Calangute police that an "unknown male, appearing to be a foreigner giving all vague answers, of unsound mind was wandering in the market and creating a nuisance in public places." He was first picked up by the Mapusa police for being a "public nuisance" and admitted to the IPHB in March, 2008, for almost 25 days. Later in April he was picked up by the Calangute police and sent to the IPHB. He was again picked up by the Calangute police in June.
20 July 2009,The Times of India, Goa edition
Saturday, July 18, 2009
DNA test lands 'rape victim' in a spot
DNA test lands 'rape victim' in a spot
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: One year after a 26-year-old girl from Vasco alleged she was raped by a neighbour and that she had subsequently given birth to his child,
DNA tests
have revealed the accused did not father the child. The police now want to initiate action against the complainant for lodging a false complaint.
A letter dated June 30, 2009 sent to the girl by Vasco police states, “I am to inform you that your complaint has transpired to be false. It is being considered whether action should be taken against you for lodging of false complaint.”
Sources reveal the police have also written to the judicial magistrate first class (JMFC), Vasco, to close the case and have sought permission to prosecute the girl for filing a false complaint. Sources said, “It was decided to close the case and prosecute the girl for filing a false complaint as the report of the DNA test to determine whether the accused was the biological father of the baby born to the girl came negative.”
The girl has also received a letter from the Vasco JMFC informing her that a final report has been filed by the police and to appear before the court for grant of desummary (to close the case due to lack of evidence) or to file objections.
The girl’s advocate, Amey Prabhudessai, confirmed receipt of the letters. Police records reveal that in her complaint the girl said that the accused, Andrew D’Cunha, had called her to his house in his mother’s absence and had allegedly repeatedly raped her on April 7, 2007. A police complaint was lodged 11 months later on March 19, 2008 and a case of rape registered.
The girl had said that she hadn’t filed a complaint till then as the boy had allegedly threatened her. It was only on learning that she was pregnant in December 2007 and after a child was born that she approached the police with the complaint.
Initially, the police weren’t able to trace the accused, but in August 2008 he surrendered. Later, the girl, the child and the boy were subjected to DNA tests at GMC which revealed that D’Cunha was not the child’s biological father.
18 July 2009,The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: One year after a 26-year-old girl from Vasco alleged she was raped by a neighbour and that she had subsequently given birth to his child,
DNA tests
have revealed the accused did not father the child. The police now want to initiate action against the complainant for lodging a false complaint.
A letter dated June 30, 2009 sent to the girl by Vasco police states, “I am to inform you that your complaint has transpired to be false. It is being considered whether action should be taken against you for lodging of false complaint.”
Sources reveal the police have also written to the judicial magistrate first class (JMFC), Vasco, to close the case and have sought permission to prosecute the girl for filing a false complaint. Sources said, “It was decided to close the case and prosecute the girl for filing a false complaint as the report of the DNA test to determine whether the accused was the biological father of the baby born to the girl came negative.”
The girl has also received a letter from the Vasco JMFC informing her that a final report has been filed by the police and to appear before the court for grant of desummary (to close the case due to lack of evidence) or to file objections.
The girl’s advocate, Amey Prabhudessai, confirmed receipt of the letters. Police records reveal that in her complaint the girl said that the accused, Andrew D’Cunha, had called her to his house in his mother’s absence and had allegedly repeatedly raped her on April 7, 2007. A police complaint was lodged 11 months later on March 19, 2008 and a case of rape registered.
The girl had said that she hadn’t filed a complaint till then as the boy had allegedly threatened her. It was only on learning that she was pregnant in December 2007 and after a child was born that she approached the police with the complaint.
Initially, the police weren’t able to trace the accused, but in August 2008 he surrendered. Later, the girl, the child and the boy were subjected to DNA tests at GMC which revealed that D’Cunha was not the child’s biological father.
18 July 2009,The Times of India, Goa edition
Cops refuse to hand over bodies of Russian duo
Cops refuse to hand over bodies of Russian duo
TNN
PANAJI: The Goa police have refused to hand over the bodies of two Russian teenagers, who were found murdered at Vagator in November 2007, to the
consulate general of the Russian Federation in Mumbai.
Anton Prosnyakov, who had gone missing in November 2007, had arrived in New Delhi from Russia on August 25, 2007 on a tourist visa along with his girlfriend Marina Pulina, 22.
They travelled to Srinagar, Leh, Mumbai and finally landed in Goa in October. They initially stayed at Vagator and then moved to Chapora. With no news from their son for a long time, Anton's parents lodged a complaint with the foreign affairs ministry of the Russian Federation saying that their son had gone missing since November 2007.
Though the DNA and super imposition' tests have confirmed that the decomposed body of the man, found in the bushes at Vagator, was that of Anton's, the parents will have write a letter to the Russian counsulate requesting that the body be handed over to them. The letter will also have to be forwarded to the Goa police.
"We cannot hand over the bodies to the consulate without the parents' consent. What if the consulate disposes the bodies and the parents approach us thereafter? Let the parents write to us through the consulate and let the consulate attach the request letter of the parents to theirs. Only then will we hand over the bodies," SP (foreigners registration office) Tony Fernandes said.
After the police informed the Russian consulate that the body was identified, the consulate told the Goa police that the family wished to take possession of whatever was left of the bodies in order to perform the final rites in Russia.
18 July 2009,The Times of India, Goa edition
TNN
PANAJI: The Goa police have refused to hand over the bodies of two Russian teenagers, who were found murdered at Vagator in November 2007, to the
consulate general of the Russian Federation in Mumbai.
Anton Prosnyakov, who had gone missing in November 2007, had arrived in New Delhi from Russia on August 25, 2007 on a tourist visa along with his girlfriend Marina Pulina, 22.
They travelled to Srinagar, Leh, Mumbai and finally landed in Goa in October. They initially stayed at Vagator and then moved to Chapora. With no news from their son for a long time, Anton's parents lodged a complaint with the foreign affairs ministry of the Russian Federation saying that their son had gone missing since November 2007.
Though the DNA and super imposition' tests have confirmed that the decomposed body of the man, found in the bushes at Vagator, was that of Anton's, the parents will have write a letter to the Russian counsulate requesting that the body be handed over to them. The letter will also have to be forwarded to the Goa police.
"We cannot hand over the bodies to the consulate without the parents' consent. What if the consulate disposes the bodies and the parents approach us thereafter? Let the parents write to us through the consulate and let the consulate attach the request letter of the parents to theirs. Only then will we hand over the bodies," SP (foreigners registration office) Tony Fernandes said.
After the police informed the Russian consulate that the body was identified, the consulate told the Goa police that the family wished to take possession of whatever was left of the bodies in order to perform the final rites in Russia.
18 July 2009,The Times of India, Goa edition
INSAS rifles to give police more fire power
INSAS rifles to give police more fire power
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: The Goa government finally seems to have woken up to the need of modernizing its police force. About 100 INSAS rifles have been procured
as part of the plan to phase out the 3000-odd vintage .303 rifles the force had been using so far.
However, some hiccups in the transition process still remain. Although Goa has the guns, it does not have the ammunition. The guns arrived last month, but lay unused till last week until the state government received "on loan" a consignment of ammunition from the Delhi police. Following this, the guns have been distributed to various police stations and units so that their personnel could be trained in handling the weapon.
Officials in charge of the modernization process played down the lack of ammunition and said that things would be sorted out soon. "Requisitions for the ammunition have already been placed and it's a matter of time before the bullets arrive," they said.
Panaji, Calangute, Anjuna, Pernem and Porvorim police stations in North Goa and Vasco, Colva, Margao, Verna, Cuncolim and Canacona in South Goa have received the rifles, procured at a cost of about Rs 10 lakh. "We have received the INSAS assault rifles, some of which we have distributed. Now we are in the process of training our policemen in handling the gun," said Goa police's official spokesperson SP (intelligence) A V Deshpande.
The state's security is being beefed up after a confidential police department note said that the police needed to be on guard "in view of the prevailing situation in the country, intelligence inputs regarding terror threats to states on the western coast of India" and possible trouble during "the forthcoming Independence Day celebrations".
In view of the threat perception, SDPOs and police inspectors of both districts have been directed to conduct regular checks at strategic points, especially at night, to prevent the movement of suspicious persons and arms and ammunition.
They have also been asked to step up patrolling at vital installations, railway stations, bus stands and other important places. The police have also increased their coordination with fishermen, hoteliers, cyber cafe and PCO owners and taxi operators, sensitizing them about the security measures.
Beat officers have been asked to check hotels, guest houses, cyber cafes and PCOs in their area at regular intervals, said police sources. Besides tenant verification, the police have been instructed to take action against those landlords who have failed to furnish tenant details.
15 July 2009,The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: The Goa government finally seems to have woken up to the need of modernizing its police force. About 100 INSAS rifles have been procured
as part of the plan to phase out the 3000-odd vintage .303 rifles the force had been using so far.
However, some hiccups in the transition process still remain. Although Goa has the guns, it does not have the ammunition. The guns arrived last month, but lay unused till last week until the state government received "on loan" a consignment of ammunition from the Delhi police. Following this, the guns have been distributed to various police stations and units so that their personnel could be trained in handling the weapon.
Officials in charge of the modernization process played down the lack of ammunition and said that things would be sorted out soon. "Requisitions for the ammunition have already been placed and it's a matter of time before the bullets arrive," they said.
Panaji, Calangute, Anjuna, Pernem and Porvorim police stations in North Goa and Vasco, Colva, Margao, Verna, Cuncolim and Canacona in South Goa have received the rifles, procured at a cost of about Rs 10 lakh. "We have received the INSAS assault rifles, some of which we have distributed. Now we are in the process of training our policemen in handling the gun," said Goa police's official spokesperson SP (intelligence) A V Deshpande.
The state's security is being beefed up after a confidential police department note said that the police needed to be on guard "in view of the prevailing situation in the country, intelligence inputs regarding terror threats to states on the western coast of India" and possible trouble during "the forthcoming Independence Day celebrations".
In view of the threat perception, SDPOs and police inspectors of both districts have been directed to conduct regular checks at strategic points, especially at night, to prevent the movement of suspicious persons and arms and ammunition.
They have also been asked to step up patrolling at vital installations, railway stations, bus stands and other important places. The police have also increased their coordination with fishermen, hoteliers, cyber cafe and PCO owners and taxi operators, sensitizing them about the security measures.
Beat officers have been asked to check hotels, guest houses, cyber cafes and PCOs in their area at regular intervals, said police sources. Besides tenant verification, the police have been instructed to take action against those landlords who have failed to furnish tenant details.
15 July 2009,The Times of India, Goa edition
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Five swine flu suspects sent home with medicine
Five swine flu suspects sent home with medicine
Preetu Nair
Panaji:Five persons suspected to be suffering with swine flu were sent home by doctors on Friday with Tamiflu tablets as there was no place for them at the isolation ward of Chicalim's cottage hospital.
Four of those sent back are relatives of the 31 year old seafarer who remains quarantined in the isolation ward of Chicalim cottage hospital, while the other is a 30 year old man from Ponda who arrived from Germany. The seafarer's wife has been quarantined in the female isolation ward of Chicalim.
When contacted, state epidemiologist Dr Rajendra Tamba said, “On Friday we got 6 suspected cases of swine flu. We have sent their throat swab samples for blood test and taken necessary precautions.” The blood samples of the suspected patients have been sent to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), New Delhi.
Sources in the health department said that with number of swine flu cases on a high, the directorate of health services plans to soon vacate the 70-bedded cottage hospital and make it into a quarantine facility.
The patients were sent back, despite the ministry of health and family welfare in a letter to the state government dated April 28 , 2009 stating :'Any suspected cluster of influenza like illness needs to be investigated by the state rapid response teams and managed in an isolation facilities with strict infection control practises."
Sources revealed there are two isolation wards, with three beds each at the Chicalim hospital. While in the female ward, the 31 year old seafarer's wife has been quarantined, sources said that there were not enough beds to keep the five male patients suspected to have swine flu. Besides, doctors at the Chicalim were hesitant to quarantine a suspected patient along with a confirmed patient.
Sources said that with the number of swine flu cases on a high, the health department plans to vacate the cottage hospital and turn it into a quarantine facility.
Indian government guidelines state that there have to be dedicated doctors, nurses and paramedical workers for swine flu patients. In Goa, there are currently only a doctor and a nurse at the Chicalim hospital taking care of the all patients, including those with swine flu.
Health officials are looking out for people who have come in contact with the seafarer."He us a highly infectious patient. Five of his relatives who came in contact with him are suspected of swine flu. When he went to Goa Medical College's casualty, he was there for almost an hour, coughing. Instead of taking his swab samples in Goa Medical College , the patient was sent to Chicalim by bus," said sources.
July 11,2009, The Times of India, Goa edition, FP
Preetu Nair
Panaji:Five persons suspected to be suffering with swine flu were sent home by doctors on Friday with Tamiflu tablets as there was no place for them at the isolation ward of Chicalim's cottage hospital.
Four of those sent back are relatives of the 31 year old seafarer who remains quarantined in the isolation ward of Chicalim cottage hospital, while the other is a 30 year old man from Ponda who arrived from Germany. The seafarer's wife has been quarantined in the female isolation ward of Chicalim.
When contacted, state epidemiologist Dr Rajendra Tamba said, “On Friday we got 6 suspected cases of swine flu. We have sent their throat swab samples for blood test and taken necessary precautions.” The blood samples of the suspected patients have been sent to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), New Delhi.
Sources in the health department said that with number of swine flu cases on a high, the directorate of health services plans to soon vacate the 70-bedded cottage hospital and make it into a quarantine facility.
The patients were sent back, despite the ministry of health and family welfare in a letter to the state government dated April 28 , 2009 stating :'Any suspected cluster of influenza like illness needs to be investigated by the state rapid response teams and managed in an isolation facilities with strict infection control practises."
Sources revealed there are two isolation wards, with three beds each at the Chicalim hospital. While in the female ward, the 31 year old seafarer's wife has been quarantined, sources said that there were not enough beds to keep the five male patients suspected to have swine flu. Besides, doctors at the Chicalim were hesitant to quarantine a suspected patient along with a confirmed patient.
Sources said that with the number of swine flu cases on a high, the health department plans to vacate the cottage hospital and turn it into a quarantine facility.
Indian government guidelines state that there have to be dedicated doctors, nurses and paramedical workers for swine flu patients. In Goa, there are currently only a doctor and a nurse at the Chicalim hospital taking care of the all patients, including those with swine flu.
Health officials are looking out for people who have come in contact with the seafarer."He us a highly infectious patient. Five of his relatives who came in contact with him are suspected of swine flu. When he went to Goa Medical College's casualty, he was there for almost an hour, coughing. Instead of taking his swab samples in Goa Medical College , the patient was sent to Chicalim by bus," said sources.
July 11,2009, The Times of India, Goa edition, FP
Monday, July 13, 2009
Nexus between traffickers and cops: NGO
Nexus between traffickers and cops: NGO
TNN
PANAJI: If you thought that police constable Rajesh Sawant from Pernem police station, who has been suspended for his alleged role in a
prostitution racket in Pernem, is one rare policeman who approached a middleman of a prostitution racket and not only demanded money for permitting the prostitution racket, but also asked for a girl for himself, then think again .
A recently conducted study on the prostitution phenomenon in Goa, particularly post demolition of the red light area at Baina and closure of dance bars in Mumbai, has revealed that there is a nexus between traffickers and police. The study conducted by NGO Arz, that works with trafficked victims, was released in June 2009.
Sample these cases:
Six girls were rescued sometime ago by the police after raiding a lodge at Porvorim. The girls said that they had obtained the mobile number of an agent named Shiva, originally from Kerala, who was doing business in Goa through their (the girls) agents and customers in Bombay. These girls revealed that in the past when they were caught by the police at discotheques or beaches, they were released by the police after speaking to Shiva over the phone. The girls added that this time they had been raided as Shiva had failed to pay the monthly bribe amounting between Rs 5 and Rs 6 lakh a month to avoid raids.
A known supplier of girls in Pernem taluka used to keep young girls, including minors, in his own house. His neighbour complained to the police about these activities, resulting in the police raiding the house and rescuing two girls. But as the supplier was friendly with the police, he was let off.
Four young girls trafficked to Goa by an agent for commercial sex work were rescued' in a police raid in September 2007 from a bungalow in Mapusa. The police first demanded Rs 50,000 in cash if they wanted to be let off scott free without a case, which they thought the agent would arrange. In fact, the driver who was also in the bungalow agreed to give Rs 30,000 and asked if he could phone the agent to arrange for the remaining amount. There were only 2 male policemen during the rescue and they did not allow calls. They started seizing mobiles, and then took the women one by one to the room and touched their private parts in the name of investigation. They were then taken to the Mapusa police station.
"There is a close nexus between traffickers and the police. This existed in the red-light area and continues to exist in Goa. Once caught by the police, the perpetrators only change the location of their operation but do not give up business. In some cases, it is intensified in terms of increase in the number of girls, more contacts in the flesh trade, more police and political linkages," said Arun Pandey, director, Arz.
However, police spokesperson SP AV Deshpande said, "As and when a matter is brought to our notice, we take necessary action."
12 July 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
TNN
PANAJI: If you thought that police constable Rajesh Sawant from Pernem police station, who has been suspended for his alleged role in a
prostitution racket in Pernem, is one rare policeman who approached a middleman of a prostitution racket and not only demanded money for permitting the prostitution racket, but also asked for a girl for himself, then think again .
A recently conducted study on the prostitution phenomenon in Goa, particularly post demolition of the red light area at Baina and closure of dance bars in Mumbai, has revealed that there is a nexus between traffickers and police. The study conducted by NGO Arz, that works with trafficked victims, was released in June 2009.
Sample these cases:
Six girls were rescued sometime ago by the police after raiding a lodge at Porvorim. The girls said that they had obtained the mobile number of an agent named Shiva, originally from Kerala, who was doing business in Goa through their (the girls) agents and customers in Bombay. These girls revealed that in the past when they were caught by the police at discotheques or beaches, they were released by the police after speaking to Shiva over the phone. The girls added that this time they had been raided as Shiva had failed to pay the monthly bribe amounting between Rs 5 and Rs 6 lakh a month to avoid raids.
A known supplier of girls in Pernem taluka used to keep young girls, including minors, in his own house. His neighbour complained to the police about these activities, resulting in the police raiding the house and rescuing two girls. But as the supplier was friendly with the police, he was let off.
Four young girls trafficked to Goa by an agent for commercial sex work were rescued' in a police raid in September 2007 from a bungalow in Mapusa. The police first demanded Rs 50,000 in cash if they wanted to be let off scott free without a case, which they thought the agent would arrange. In fact, the driver who was also in the bungalow agreed to give Rs 30,000 and asked if he could phone the agent to arrange for the remaining amount. There were only 2 male policemen during the rescue and they did not allow calls. They started seizing mobiles, and then took the women one by one to the room and touched their private parts in the name of investigation. They were then taken to the Mapusa police station.
"There is a close nexus between traffickers and the police. This existed in the red-light area and continues to exist in Goa. Once caught by the police, the perpetrators only change the location of their operation but do not give up business. In some cases, it is intensified in terms of increase in the number of girls, more contacts in the flesh trade, more police and political linkages," said Arun Pandey, director, Arz.
However, police spokesperson SP AV Deshpande said, "As and when a matter is brought to our notice, we take necessary action."
12 July 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Apna Ghar official suspended
Apna Ghar official suspended
TNN
PANAJI: The women and child department has suspended the superintendent of Apna Ghar, Merces, and initiated disciplinary proceedings against
her.
The director of the women and child department, Sumedha Bolekar, confirmed that the superintendent, Sumedha Bolekar, has been suspended. He, however, refused to give the reason behind the move.
Sources said that the department was facing constant embarrassment as juveniles housed there often fled from the home. The escapees, when caught, would always complain of ill-treatment at Apna Ghar.
10 July 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
TNN
PANAJI: The women and child department has suspended the superintendent of Apna Ghar, Merces, and initiated disciplinary proceedings against
her.
The director of the women and child department, Sumedha Bolekar, confirmed that the superintendent, Sumedha Bolekar, has been suspended. He, however, refused to give the reason behind the move.
Sources said that the department was facing constant embarrassment as juveniles housed there often fled from the home. The escapees, when caught, would always complain of ill-treatment at Apna Ghar.
10 July 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Friday, July 10, 2009
Activists smell a rat in law on health estates
Activists smell a rat in law on health estates
TNN,
PANAJI: The recently notified Goa Health Services Development Act, 2008, gives overriding powers to the Goa Health Services Development
Corporation to issue directions to local authorities to grant permission to new health estates.
The Act allows the corporation to acquire land and says, “any land required by the corporation for carrying out any of its functions shall be deemed to be needed for a public purpose”. Further, the corporation will have the powers to lease, sell, exchange or transfer property held by it and declares that anyone found guilty of attempting to stop work in a health estate will attract a penalty or imprisonment.
The Act defines a “health estate” as any area declared to be a health estate by a notification in the official gazette, which is to be developed and where health establishments are to be accommodated. Activists, however, allege that health estates are nothing but a ploy to develop real estate in the state by keeping the people out of the planning process. “This is being done to take away the little power panchayats have and develop real estate. They are trying to stifle the people’s voice.
Politicians have ruined the cities and towns, and now they will destroy the villages. The government is not with the people and is doing destructive development, with complete disregard for people’s opinion,” alleged Ganv Ghor Rakhon Manch spokesperson Geraldine Fernandes.
The Act states that “if the government is satisfied either on a recommendation made in this behalf by the corporation or otherwise, that the setting up of a health undertaking is impeded by a local authority’s refusal to grant or by such authority’s insistence on conditions which the government considers unreasonable for the grant of any amenity, the government may direct the local authority to grant the said amenity”.
Goa Bachao Abhiyan convenor Sabina Martins counters this saying, “Anybody’s land can be acquired for the health estate because it will be deemed to have been acquired for public purpose. We opposed section 16, 16 (a) of the Town and Country Planning Act as it keeps public-private partnerships and government projects outside the purview of the regional plan process. This notification contains clauses taking away the powers of the panchayat and people to object or agree to a health estate.”
Health minister Vishwajit Rane, however, denies any hidden agenda. “There is no land scam here. It is an old plan, formulated when present opposition leader Manohar Parrikar was chief minister. The Act has been deliberated on in the assembly and passed to provide the best health facilities to the people and in the interest of the people.”
The only relief is that the government shall not issue directions unless the local authority has been given an opportunity to show cause why such a direction should not be made. Rane, however, said the corporation won’t be acquiring any land, but using the 2-3 lakh sq m of land already in its possession. “It is a rocky terrain at Kadamba plateau, which was in the government’s possession and has been transferred to the corporation,” said Rane.
Assuring that the health estate would be a health hub offering health facilities to the people and providing allied services such as a nursing college or EMRI advance paramedic centre, Rane said, “It is not going to be a five-star residential complex. It is going to be purely a place to provide health facilities or allied activities to benefit the people of Goa. I will do what my conscience permits and as advised by the health advisory council.”
The notification further states that any person obstructing the entry of an authorised person into any land, molesting such a person or obstructing work shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment which may extend to six months, or with a fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or both.
Besides, anyone removing a mark set up for the purpose of indicating any level, boundary line, or direction necessary to execute works authorised under the Act shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months or with a fine which may extend to Rs 1,000 or with both.
Advocate and activist Satish Sonak said, “A government needs to put such clauses and penalties when they fail to understand the popular view point and want to suppress people’s opinion by using the law as a rod. This is done to put fear in people’s hearts and shows that the government has lost faith in its ability to convince the people. The government may make laws, but if I am convinced that wrong is being done, I am willing to break the law and bear punishment for the same,” said advocate Satish Sonak.
10 July, The Times of India, Goa edition
TNN,
PANAJI: The recently notified Goa Health Services Development Act, 2008, gives overriding powers to the Goa Health Services Development
Corporation to issue directions to local authorities to grant permission to new health estates.
The Act allows the corporation to acquire land and says, “any land required by the corporation for carrying out any of its functions shall be deemed to be needed for a public purpose”. Further, the corporation will have the powers to lease, sell, exchange or transfer property held by it and declares that anyone found guilty of attempting to stop work in a health estate will attract a penalty or imprisonment.
The Act defines a “health estate” as any area declared to be a health estate by a notification in the official gazette, which is to be developed and where health establishments are to be accommodated. Activists, however, allege that health estates are nothing but a ploy to develop real estate in the state by keeping the people out of the planning process. “This is being done to take away the little power panchayats have and develop real estate. They are trying to stifle the people’s voice.
Politicians have ruined the cities and towns, and now they will destroy the villages. The government is not with the people and is doing destructive development, with complete disregard for people’s opinion,” alleged Ganv Ghor Rakhon Manch spokesperson Geraldine Fernandes.
The Act states that “if the government is satisfied either on a recommendation made in this behalf by the corporation or otherwise, that the setting up of a health undertaking is impeded by a local authority’s refusal to grant or by such authority’s insistence on conditions which the government considers unreasonable for the grant of any amenity, the government may direct the local authority to grant the said amenity”.
Goa Bachao Abhiyan convenor Sabina Martins counters this saying, “Anybody’s land can be acquired for the health estate because it will be deemed to have been acquired for public purpose. We opposed section 16, 16 (a) of the Town and Country Planning Act as it keeps public-private partnerships and government projects outside the purview of the regional plan process. This notification contains clauses taking away the powers of the panchayat and people to object or agree to a health estate.”
Health minister Vishwajit Rane, however, denies any hidden agenda. “There is no land scam here. It is an old plan, formulated when present opposition leader Manohar Parrikar was chief minister. The Act has been deliberated on in the assembly and passed to provide the best health facilities to the people and in the interest of the people.”
The only relief is that the government shall not issue directions unless the local authority has been given an opportunity to show cause why such a direction should not be made. Rane, however, said the corporation won’t be acquiring any land, but using the 2-3 lakh sq m of land already in its possession. “It is a rocky terrain at Kadamba plateau, which was in the government’s possession and has been transferred to the corporation,” said Rane.
Assuring that the health estate would be a health hub offering health facilities to the people and providing allied services such as a nursing college or EMRI advance paramedic centre, Rane said, “It is not going to be a five-star residential complex. It is going to be purely a place to provide health facilities or allied activities to benefit the people of Goa. I will do what my conscience permits and as advised by the health advisory council.”
The notification further states that any person obstructing the entry of an authorised person into any land, molesting such a person or obstructing work shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment which may extend to six months, or with a fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or both.
Besides, anyone removing a mark set up for the purpose of indicating any level, boundary line, or direction necessary to execute works authorised under the Act shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months or with a fine which may extend to Rs 1,000 or with both.
Advocate and activist Satish Sonak said, “A government needs to put such clauses and penalties when they fail to understand the popular view point and want to suppress people’s opinion by using the law as a rod. This is done to put fear in people’s hearts and shows that the government has lost faith in its ability to convince the people. The government may make laws, but if I am convinced that wrong is being done, I am willing to break the law and bear punishment for the same,” said advocate Satish Sonak.
10 July, The Times of India, Goa edition
Thursday, July 09, 2009
If you are a victim of gossip mongers, apple polishers and stool pigeons? Share your experience...
If you are a victim of gossip mongers, apple polishers and stool pigeons? Share your experience
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Goa CHCs lack basic c-section facilities
Goa CHCs lack basic c-section facilities
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: While the Goa government crows about it’s ‘top-notch’ healthcare facilities, a recent survey found that 80% of the community health
centres (CHC), first referral units (FRU) in an emergency, are not equipped to conduct even a simple caesarean section. The survey found that only one CHC, of five in the state, has a qualified gyneacologist able to perform a caesarean.
The survey was conducted in 2007-08 and health director Dr Rajnanda Dessai says there have been changes since then. “The situation has improved and we now have gyneacologists in most CHCs. A caesarean is, however, not done at CHCs due to certain inherent factors.”
The ‘inherent factors’, include the lack of a blood storage facility and the non-availability of an anaesthetist. Sources also say there are times when doctors
at CHCs don’t want to take the risk.
The survey, conducted in 2007-08, found that though three CHCs had a functional operation theatre, only one, Ponda CHC, had a general surgeon and though they have been designated as FRUs, none had facilities to store blood.
Dessai, however, assured that this would change. “We are working on improving the situation,” she said.
There are, however, no caesareans performed at primary health centres (PHC) as these do not have a gyneacologist.
Though normal births are possible at CHCs 24 hours a day, the average number of deliveries a month at all CHCs are 60 and at PHCs even less, at 30. Compared to this, Goa medical college and hospital on an average conducts 123 deliveries a month.
June 27,2009, The Times of India, Goa edition, Page 1
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: While the Goa government crows about it’s ‘top-notch’ healthcare facilities, a recent survey found that 80% of the community health
centres (CHC), first referral units (FRU) in an emergency, are not equipped to conduct even a simple caesarean section. The survey found that only one CHC, of five in the state, has a qualified gyneacologist able to perform a caesarean.
The survey was conducted in 2007-08 and health director Dr Rajnanda Dessai says there have been changes since then. “The situation has improved and we now have gyneacologists in most CHCs. A caesarean is, however, not done at CHCs due to certain inherent factors.”
The ‘inherent factors’, include the lack of a blood storage facility and the non-availability of an anaesthetist. Sources also say there are times when doctors
at CHCs don’t want to take the risk.
The survey, conducted in 2007-08, found that though three CHCs had a functional operation theatre, only one, Ponda CHC, had a general surgeon and though they have been designated as FRUs, none had facilities to store blood.
Dessai, however, assured that this would change. “We are working on improving the situation,” she said.
There are, however, no caesareans performed at primary health centres (PHC) as these do not have a gyneacologist.
Though normal births are possible at CHCs 24 hours a day, the average number of deliveries a month at all CHCs are 60 and at PHCs even less, at 30. Compared to this, Goa medical college and hospital on an average conducts 123 deliveries a month.
June 27,2009, The Times of India, Goa edition, Page 1
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Three year old rape returns to haunt minor
Three year old rape returns to haunt minor
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: Just when a 11-year-old girl was beginning to overcome the damaging effects of a rape four years earlier, she has been stunned with the
knowledge that she has tested positive for HIV. The girl had been allegedly raped by her neighbour in June 2005.
The family suspects that her rapist, out on bail, may have infected their little girl. "I am told that there is a myth that HIV/AIDS sufferers can be cured if they have sex with a virgin. My daughter seems to a victim of one such false belief," the victim's father said.
The girl's recent discharge card from a paediatric consultant at Goa medical college and hospital states, "Due to sexual abuse the case was made MLC (medico-legal case) and a police statement taken." The girl had been admitted to the hospital on June 8 as she was running a fever and feeling weak. Tests conducted on her revealed TB and HIV.
Incidentally, though the Vasco police had registered the case and arrested the accused, one Ramesh Lamani, they had later closed the case as A-final (due to lack of medical evidence) and on the prosecution director's opinion, hadn't filed a chargesheet in the case. Subsequently, the accused was released on bail and investigations were closed in August 2006.
However, the matter is still pending before the JMFC, Vasco. "The court has so far not accepted the police decision. It now has the powers to reject the police decision and ask us to investigate," said a police official. Meanwhile, Vasco police have again recorded the minor's statement in the hospital.
The victim alleged that the accused had unprotected sex with her at his home in June 2006. She can't recollect the date on which she was raped, but remembers that it was drizzling. She was nine years old when her "friendly" neighbour raped her violently.
"He held my hands, restrained me and had forcible intercourse with me. The attack was so violent, that I screamed in pain and for help. But he pressed a knife to my throat and threatened to kill me and my family. I was scared," said the girl, who weighs less than 25 kg.
The incident sent the girl into a shell for more than a month and she revealed about the attack almost a month and a half later, following which the family lodged a police complaint on July 18, 2005 and the accused arrested.
"My parents were out of station when the incident happened. My little sister went into a shell and only when coaxed revealed that she was raped by our neighbour. She maintained a silence as he had threatened to kill my parents," said the victim's elder sister, explaining the delay in lodging the police complaint.
The minor's family now want that the police arrest the accused and test him for HIV. They have also contacted child activists for help.
The girl's father said that after the incident, his daughter was continuously ill and due to weakness had to drop out of school. "In the last few months, her condition deteriorated and she was admitted to the hospital in a critical condition. She was detected with HIV and the doctors even tested us for HIV. But as our reports were negative, the doctors at GMC coaxed my daughter and she spoke the truth," said the father.
June 24,2009, The Times of India, Goa edition, Page 1
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: Just when a 11-year-old girl was beginning to overcome the damaging effects of a rape four years earlier, she has been stunned with the
knowledge that she has tested positive for HIV. The girl had been allegedly raped by her neighbour in June 2005.
The family suspects that her rapist, out on bail, may have infected their little girl. "I am told that there is a myth that HIV/AIDS sufferers can be cured if they have sex with a virgin. My daughter seems to a victim of one such false belief," the victim's father said.
The girl's recent discharge card from a paediatric consultant at Goa medical college and hospital states, "Due to sexual abuse the case was made MLC (medico-legal case) and a police statement taken." The girl had been admitted to the hospital on June 8 as she was running a fever and feeling weak. Tests conducted on her revealed TB and HIV.
Incidentally, though the Vasco police had registered the case and arrested the accused, one Ramesh Lamani, they had later closed the case as A-final (due to lack of medical evidence) and on the prosecution director's opinion, hadn't filed a chargesheet in the case. Subsequently, the accused was released on bail and investigations were closed in August 2006.
However, the matter is still pending before the JMFC, Vasco. "The court has so far not accepted the police decision. It now has the powers to reject the police decision and ask us to investigate," said a police official. Meanwhile, Vasco police have again recorded the minor's statement in the hospital.
The victim alleged that the accused had unprotected sex with her at his home in June 2006. She can't recollect the date on which she was raped, but remembers that it was drizzling. She was nine years old when her "friendly" neighbour raped her violently.
"He held my hands, restrained me and had forcible intercourse with me. The attack was so violent, that I screamed in pain and for help. But he pressed a knife to my throat and threatened to kill me and my family. I was scared," said the girl, who weighs less than 25 kg.
The incident sent the girl into a shell for more than a month and she revealed about the attack almost a month and a half later, following which the family lodged a police complaint on July 18, 2005 and the accused arrested.
"My parents were out of station when the incident happened. My little sister went into a shell and only when coaxed revealed that she was raped by our neighbour. She maintained a silence as he had threatened to kill my parents," said the victim's elder sister, explaining the delay in lodging the police complaint.
The minor's family now want that the police arrest the accused and test him for HIV. They have also contacted child activists for help.
The girl's father said that after the incident, his daughter was continuously ill and due to weakness had to drop out of school. "In the last few months, her condition deteriorated and she was admitted to the hospital in a critical condition. She was detected with HIV and the doctors even tested us for HIV. But as our reports were negative, the doctors at GMC coaxed my daughter and she spoke the truth," said the father.
June 24,2009, The Times of India, Goa edition, Page 1
Thursday, June 18, 2009
The expanding red light district
The expanding red light district
Preetu Nair, TNN
From massage parlours to fishing trawlers, highways to starred hotels, migrants to Goan girls, after the tearing down of Baina's red light area, trafficking in Goa has undergone a sea change, reports Preetu Nair
* In the last three raids on massage parlours in Porvorim, Mapusa and Arpora, police rescued four Goans. The girls had joined the parlours for "better pay" and "a better future".
* Sudha, 16, a school dropout from Sanvordem wanted fancy mobiles, money to spend on clothes, food and friends. Traffickers would lure her with the promise of a mobile phone every night for serveral months. She was later rescued from a hotel in Margao and the traffickers arrested.
* Three young girlsa Kannadiga, Manipuri and Goanwere recently rescued from a massage parlour in Vagator. They were lured with the promise of "good money" and "promotion" after a year. The promotion included training in beauty treatment and a near doubling of salary to between Rs 8,000 and Rs 10,000.
Five years after bulldozers razed Baina's red light area in the state's port town of Vasco, the mode and form of trafficking has changed.
Baina's dingy rooms have given way to fancy cubicles in massage parlours and air-conditioned rooms in starred hotels. Taxi drivers and motorcycle pilots as contact points have made way for waiters, chai boys and beach hawkers. The modus operandi too has adapted to the needs of the solicitors and the solicited.
Perhaps the biggest change, however, point out police and NGO sources, are the finding of local girls among those rescued.
"Goan girls are being lured, often by Goan women, with the promise of easy money and the belief that they can lead a comfortable life with less hardwork," says Auda Viegas, president, Bailancho Ekvott and member of the State Protective Home that looks after rescued trafficking victims.
With the contact point shifting from the cramped lanes in Baina to just about everywhere: beaches, parlours, hotels, lodges, bars, restaurants, streets, markets, even fishing trawlers, the modus operandi nowadays is to pre-arrange a meeting point for the customer and the girl. Alternatively, women are also sent to certain areas to directly solicit, finds a study by Baina-based NGO, Arz.
The 2007-08 study, whose findings will be released soon, focused on Goa's prostitution phenomenon after the demolition of Baina and the closure of dance bars in Mumbai. Information was collected by talking to sex workers, pimps, legislators, government authorities, hoteliers etc. The study reports that nowadays, it is not uncommon to find girls, including foreigners, soliciting on beaches, bars, restaurants, shacks and even at tourist bazaars.
Another common meeting point are night clubs where couple entry is the rule. Some girls solicit around major crossroads, traffic circles, junctions, gardens and bus stands. In Margao, Colva and other parts of Salcete taluka, women are seen soliciting on the roads, municipal garden and bus stands. Most are migrants settled in Goa, reports the study.
"After the demolition in Baina, prostitution has spread all over the state," says Dr Pramod Salgaonkar, chairperson, Goa State Commission for Women. "While middle-budget prostitution is flourishing in the tourist belt in the form of massage parlours, prostitution along highways, hotels and houses is also on the increase," she adds.
Arun Pandey of Arz, says, "The Baina demolition has led to an escalation in highway prostitution, prostitution in isolated places like jungles and prostitution in vehicles (private four wheelers)."
"There is an increased vulnerability of women and children in prostitution to forced sex acts and rapes. Clients would not be able to film prostituted women and children or have group sex in a brothel. Now this is possible," he adds.
Goa police's public information officer SP AV Deshpande calls it "old wine in a new bottle". "The business is the same. But girls are now better educated and pimps are using the latest technology to operate and attract high paying clients. The business has become more sophisticated." Moreover, new destination points for trafficking in Goa and in neighboring states have developed, he says.
As for local girls entering the trade, Dr Pramod Salgaonkar shrugs off the matter, "There are few Goan girls who are misguided and pushed into prostitution. But the number is minuscule."
Auda Viegas, emphasizes, "We have to get out of denial mode and accept that in the changing scenario our Goan girls are also being lured into commercial sex work and in most cases by Goan women. It's the lure of easy money and a false belief that it's an easy life."
(Names of trafficked victims changed)
The supply chain
Air
Upper class commercial sex workers and their clients prefer to fly into Goa. Prior to meeting, customers choose from photos shown on mobilephones by agents. The agent then makes the deal with the girl and the amount charged can go up to Rs 1 lakh per night. A part of the payment is made in advance and is immediately verified at the nearest ATM. One-way air fare is paid by the middle man who can earn as much as Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000 in one deal. Hotels are avoided and girls are taken to bungalows or flats.
Train
Girls brought into Goa by train, mostly alight at Thivim and Vasco stations from where they are picked up and taken to flats. They are supplied as per demand.
Bus
Girls brought into Goa by bus get down at Mapusa, Panaji, Margao, Ponda or Bicholim bus terminii. They are then taken to other destinations by pimps.
Private vehicles
While trafficking via private vehicles, a "manager" accompanies the girls who are then handed over to the relevant person in Goa. The manager gets "good luck" moneya cash incentive that can go up to Rs 5,000 per girl. The girls are received at specific places, mostly in Mapusa and Panaji.
In such deals, the girls are taken on a "contract" basis of about Rs 25,000 for 15 days. Each girl has to entertain 8 to 12 customers per day. If a customer complains, the girl faces a financial "penalty" of up to Rs 5,000 or more.
* Information from study: Trafficking for Commercial Sexual Exploitation in Goa' by Baina-based NGO, ARZ
Massage parlours
Place: Mostly in the coastal belt
Operate from: Stalls erected behind beach shacks, hotels, lodges and rented houses. While some are high-class massage/beauty parlours, others operate from dingy rooms. There are registered as well as unregistered parlours that traffick. A security guard at most places facilitates entry into the parlour.
CSWs: From Maharashtra, West Bengal, Delhi, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya and Nepal. Of late, Goan girls have also been found working in such parlours.
Customers: Domestic, foreign tourists, even local youngsters have been found visiting those located in Bardez taluka.
Modus operandi: Customers do not approach massage/beauty parlours directly. They are solicited by mostly young boys. After soliciting, the customers (either alone or in groups of 2-4) are brought to the parlour via private or commercial vehicles. In a majority of cases, vans are used to transport the solicited customers.
Price: Varies from Rs 2,500 to Rs 25,000
Hotels & lodges
Place: Almost everywhere in Goa
CSWs: Predominantly from Maharashtra (mainly Mumbai, Pune and Sawantwadi), Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, West Bengal, Manipur, Meghalaya and Nepal. Young, smart, modern, fashionable and Hindi-speaking girls are preferred.
Modus operandi: The girls are accommodated at the hotel or in a nearby rented house. After agents fix a deal with customers, the girls are made available. Those put up in rented premises are contacted over their mobiles and picked up from their residences.
Agents in hotels and lodges also contact girls who openly solicit in markets and beaches. On receiving the details, the girl proceeds to the hotel/lodge.
In another variant, in Bardez taluka rooms are rented to girls on an hourly basis.
Some hotel managers also have contacts with CSWs from other states in order to meet demand. If the girl does not have money to travel, she is instructed to board a particular bus where the ticket is paid for directly at the travel agency by the hotel manager. She diembarks at the said destination and is taken directly to the hotel.
Customers: Domestic and foreign tourists
Rented Rooms
Place: CSWs are kept in rented rooms and houses in villages
CSWs: From Maharashtra, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Manipur and Nepal.
Modus operandi: The girls are brought to Goa by bus or train on contracts that range from a week to a month.
In Bardez taluka, they are mostly picked up from the Mapusa bus stand or Thivim railway station.
They are not allowed to leave the rooms/houses. Whenever they are taken out, vehicles with black tinted glasses are used. After the contract period they are paid and sent back.
Fishing trawlers
Place: Fishing jetties and nearby market areas. Though entry into fishing jetties is restricted, the girls are permitted.
CSWs: Mostly from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
Modus operandi: Soliciting is done by the CSW herself. The room is often a trawler anchored a distance away from the jetty.
Though cash is paid, in many cases the girl gets fish or prawns which she later sells.
Customers: Migrants from Kerala, Orissa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, who work on contract basis with trawler owners.
Brothels
Place: Baina, Vasco
Modus operandi: Customers are solicited by motorcycle pilots and taxi drivers at bus stands, railway stations, markets, gardens and brought to Baina beach.
Here, a deal is made with the madam' (brothel owner) and once finalized the girl is sent with the customer to a nearby, pre-determined room.
The amount paid is shared by the pimp, room owner, madam and the CSW. At times, the CSW is forced to solicit customers herself.
Isolated places
Place: Prime areas include the KTC bus stand, Municipal garden, Railway bridge and railway station in Vasco city. Also Sada, Bogda, the Japanese garden, Kharewada, Birla, Zuari Nagar, Verna industrial estate, Kelsim and Thane and Cortalim.
CSWs: Mostly those displaced after the demolition of the red light area in Baina.
Modus operandi: CSWs solicit customers on the roads and take them to nearby hotels, lodges or thickly forested areas.
Highways
Place: Highways passing through some of the state's interior talukas. Mostly in highly industrial and mining areas.
CSWs: Mostly from migrant populations settled in slums or rented houses.
Modus operandi: CSWs solicit at different locations along the highways. The customer is taken to a room or the girl travels to another location in the latter's vehicle.
Customers: Mostly truck drivers and helpers.
10 Jun 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair, TNN
From massage parlours to fishing trawlers, highways to starred hotels, migrants to Goan girls, after the tearing down of Baina's red light area, trafficking in Goa has undergone a sea change, reports Preetu Nair
* In the last three raids on massage parlours in Porvorim, Mapusa and Arpora, police rescued four Goans. The girls had joined the parlours for "better pay" and "a better future".
* Sudha, 16, a school dropout from Sanvordem wanted fancy mobiles, money to spend on clothes, food and friends. Traffickers would lure her with the promise of a mobile phone every night for serveral months. She was later rescued from a hotel in Margao and the traffickers arrested.
* Three young girlsa Kannadiga, Manipuri and Goanwere recently rescued from a massage parlour in Vagator. They were lured with the promise of "good money" and "promotion" after a year. The promotion included training in beauty treatment and a near doubling of salary to between Rs 8,000 and Rs 10,000.
Five years after bulldozers razed Baina's red light area in the state's port town of Vasco, the mode and form of trafficking has changed.
Baina's dingy rooms have given way to fancy cubicles in massage parlours and air-conditioned rooms in starred hotels. Taxi drivers and motorcycle pilots as contact points have made way for waiters, chai boys and beach hawkers. The modus operandi too has adapted to the needs of the solicitors and the solicited.
Perhaps the biggest change, however, point out police and NGO sources, are the finding of local girls among those rescued.
"Goan girls are being lured, often by Goan women, with the promise of easy money and the belief that they can lead a comfortable life with less hardwork," says Auda Viegas, president, Bailancho Ekvott and member of the State Protective Home that looks after rescued trafficking victims.
With the contact point shifting from the cramped lanes in Baina to just about everywhere: beaches, parlours, hotels, lodges, bars, restaurants, streets, markets, even fishing trawlers, the modus operandi nowadays is to pre-arrange a meeting point for the customer and the girl. Alternatively, women are also sent to certain areas to directly solicit, finds a study by Baina-based NGO, Arz.
The 2007-08 study, whose findings will be released soon, focused on Goa's prostitution phenomenon after the demolition of Baina and the closure of dance bars in Mumbai. Information was collected by talking to sex workers, pimps, legislators, government authorities, hoteliers etc. The study reports that nowadays, it is not uncommon to find girls, including foreigners, soliciting on beaches, bars, restaurants, shacks and even at tourist bazaars.
Another common meeting point are night clubs where couple entry is the rule. Some girls solicit around major crossroads, traffic circles, junctions, gardens and bus stands. In Margao, Colva and other parts of Salcete taluka, women are seen soliciting on the roads, municipal garden and bus stands. Most are migrants settled in Goa, reports the study.
"After the demolition in Baina, prostitution has spread all over the state," says Dr Pramod Salgaonkar, chairperson, Goa State Commission for Women. "While middle-budget prostitution is flourishing in the tourist belt in the form of massage parlours, prostitution along highways, hotels and houses is also on the increase," she adds.
Arun Pandey of Arz, says, "The Baina demolition has led to an escalation in highway prostitution, prostitution in isolated places like jungles and prostitution in vehicles (private four wheelers)."
"There is an increased vulnerability of women and children in prostitution to forced sex acts and rapes. Clients would not be able to film prostituted women and children or have group sex in a brothel. Now this is possible," he adds.
Goa police's public information officer SP AV Deshpande calls it "old wine in a new bottle". "The business is the same. But girls are now better educated and pimps are using the latest technology to operate and attract high paying clients. The business has become more sophisticated." Moreover, new destination points for trafficking in Goa and in neighboring states have developed, he says.
As for local girls entering the trade, Dr Pramod Salgaonkar shrugs off the matter, "There are few Goan girls who are misguided and pushed into prostitution. But the number is minuscule."
Auda Viegas, emphasizes, "We have to get out of denial mode and accept that in the changing scenario our Goan girls are also being lured into commercial sex work and in most cases by Goan women. It's the lure of easy money and a false belief that it's an easy life."
(Names of trafficked victims changed)
The supply chain
Air
Upper class commercial sex workers and their clients prefer to fly into Goa. Prior to meeting, customers choose from photos shown on mobilephones by agents. The agent then makes the deal with the girl and the amount charged can go up to Rs 1 lakh per night. A part of the payment is made in advance and is immediately verified at the nearest ATM. One-way air fare is paid by the middle man who can earn as much as Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000 in one deal. Hotels are avoided and girls are taken to bungalows or flats.
Train
Girls brought into Goa by train, mostly alight at Thivim and Vasco stations from where they are picked up and taken to flats. They are supplied as per demand.
Bus
Girls brought into Goa by bus get down at Mapusa, Panaji, Margao, Ponda or Bicholim bus terminii. They are then taken to other destinations by pimps.
Private vehicles
While trafficking via private vehicles, a "manager" accompanies the girls who are then handed over to the relevant person in Goa. The manager gets "good luck" moneya cash incentive that can go up to Rs 5,000 per girl. The girls are received at specific places, mostly in Mapusa and Panaji.
In such deals, the girls are taken on a "contract" basis of about Rs 25,000 for 15 days. Each girl has to entertain 8 to 12 customers per day. If a customer complains, the girl faces a financial "penalty" of up to Rs 5,000 or more.
* Information from study: Trafficking for Commercial Sexual Exploitation in Goa' by Baina-based NGO, ARZ
Massage parlours
Place: Mostly in the coastal belt
Operate from: Stalls erected behind beach shacks, hotels, lodges and rented houses. While some are high-class massage/beauty parlours, others operate from dingy rooms. There are registered as well as unregistered parlours that traffick. A security guard at most places facilitates entry into the parlour.
CSWs: From Maharashtra, West Bengal, Delhi, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya and Nepal. Of late, Goan girls have also been found working in such parlours.
Customers: Domestic, foreign tourists, even local youngsters have been found visiting those located in Bardez taluka.
Modus operandi: Customers do not approach massage/beauty parlours directly. They are solicited by mostly young boys. After soliciting, the customers (either alone or in groups of 2-4) are brought to the parlour via private or commercial vehicles. In a majority of cases, vans are used to transport the solicited customers.
Price: Varies from Rs 2,500 to Rs 25,000
Hotels & lodges
Place: Almost everywhere in Goa
CSWs: Predominantly from Maharashtra (mainly Mumbai, Pune and Sawantwadi), Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, West Bengal, Manipur, Meghalaya and Nepal. Young, smart, modern, fashionable and Hindi-speaking girls are preferred.
Modus operandi: The girls are accommodated at the hotel or in a nearby rented house. After agents fix a deal with customers, the girls are made available. Those put up in rented premises are contacted over their mobiles and picked up from their residences.
Agents in hotels and lodges also contact girls who openly solicit in markets and beaches. On receiving the details, the girl proceeds to the hotel/lodge.
In another variant, in Bardez taluka rooms are rented to girls on an hourly basis.
Some hotel managers also have contacts with CSWs from other states in order to meet demand. If the girl does not have money to travel, she is instructed to board a particular bus where the ticket is paid for directly at the travel agency by the hotel manager. She diembarks at the said destination and is taken directly to the hotel.
Customers: Domestic and foreign tourists
Rented Rooms
Place: CSWs are kept in rented rooms and houses in villages
CSWs: From Maharashtra, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Manipur and Nepal.
Modus operandi: The girls are brought to Goa by bus or train on contracts that range from a week to a month.
In Bardez taluka, they are mostly picked up from the Mapusa bus stand or Thivim railway station.
They are not allowed to leave the rooms/houses. Whenever they are taken out, vehicles with black tinted glasses are used. After the contract period they are paid and sent back.
Fishing trawlers
Place: Fishing jetties and nearby market areas. Though entry into fishing jetties is restricted, the girls are permitted.
CSWs: Mostly from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
Modus operandi: Soliciting is done by the CSW herself. The room is often a trawler anchored a distance away from the jetty.
Though cash is paid, in many cases the girl gets fish or prawns which she later sells.
Customers: Migrants from Kerala, Orissa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, who work on contract basis with trawler owners.
Brothels
Place: Baina, Vasco
Modus operandi: Customers are solicited by motorcycle pilots and taxi drivers at bus stands, railway stations, markets, gardens and brought to Baina beach.
Here, a deal is made with the madam' (brothel owner) and once finalized the girl is sent with the customer to a nearby, pre-determined room.
The amount paid is shared by the pimp, room owner, madam and the CSW. At times, the CSW is forced to solicit customers herself.
Isolated places
Place: Prime areas include the KTC bus stand, Municipal garden, Railway bridge and railway station in Vasco city. Also Sada, Bogda, the Japanese garden, Kharewada, Birla, Zuari Nagar, Verna industrial estate, Kelsim and Thane and Cortalim.
CSWs: Mostly those displaced after the demolition of the red light area in Baina.
Modus operandi: CSWs solicit customers on the roads and take them to nearby hotels, lodges or thickly forested areas.
Highways
Place: Highways passing through some of the state's interior talukas. Mostly in highly industrial and mining areas.
CSWs: Mostly from migrant populations settled in slums or rented houses.
Modus operandi: CSWs solicit at different locations along the highways. The customer is taken to a room or the girl travels to another location in the latter's vehicle.
Customers: Mostly truck drivers and helpers.
10 Jun 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Cops' theory on Elena's death inconclusive
Cops' theory on Elena's death inconclusive
TNN
PANAJI: Russian authorities have refused to accept the Goa police's accident theory in teenager Elena Sukhonova's death and said that homicide can't be excluded.
Elena's body was found on the railway tracks at Thivim on May 8. Police initially said that she might have boarded a train to Mumbai and accidentally fallen off of it. However, till date they have not got a single witness who could confirm her presence at the Thivim railway station.
"The Goa police's accident theory is not conclusive. There is a strong suspicion that it could be a case of homicide. Till date we have not received definite answers from the police," said Russian consul general Alexander Mantytsky, who was in Goa to discuss Elena's case with state government authorities.
"A number of our requests to expedite the investigation remained unanswered by the concerned authorities," he said. Admitting that there is a kind of police inefficiency in handling the case, he said, "The police is ill-equipped because they don't have a forensic laboratory. Some reports are pending for years together as the final report is not available." The Russian embassy authorities in Delhi have also taken up the matter with the ministry of external affairs and requested them to investigate into the case.
The consul general met the chief secretary and IGP on Tuesday to discuss Elena's case and also discussed eight more cases that involved an assault on a Russian, arrests and a jail sentence slapped on a Russian, and two cases of robbery of Russian tourists.
Describing Elena as a college student, he said that her parents have asked for her nails and hair for DNA profiling as she her face is now unrecognizable.
Stating that the inefficiency gives a bad name to Goa, he said, "Most Russians are victims of crime and that is why we want a thorough investigation into the cases. We want the accused to be punished. We don't want to promote a negative image of Goa."
Criticizing the stand of home minister Ravi Naik, who blamed foreign tourists for tarnishing Goa's image by their late night lifestyle, he asked, "If late night parties are illegal, then the police should enforce the law and ensure that there are no violations. Why blame the tourists, who are coming here to relax?"
About 44,000 Russian tourists visited Goa during the tourist season of 2008-2009. "Russians are also looking at Kerala. Now, the competition between Goa and Kerala is going to increase," he said.
The Russian counsel said that though some of the cases have been finalized by the police, they found the "answers in the mentioned letters quite formal as they do not contain any concrete information about the course of investigation."
3 June, 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
TNN
PANAJI: Russian authorities have refused to accept the Goa police's accident theory in teenager Elena Sukhonova's death and said that homicide can't be excluded.
Elena's body was found on the railway tracks at Thivim on May 8. Police initially said that she might have boarded a train to Mumbai and accidentally fallen off of it. However, till date they have not got a single witness who could confirm her presence at the Thivim railway station.
"The Goa police's accident theory is not conclusive. There is a strong suspicion that it could be a case of homicide. Till date we have not received definite answers from the police," said Russian consul general Alexander Mantytsky, who was in Goa to discuss Elena's case with state government authorities.
"A number of our requests to expedite the investigation remained unanswered by the concerned authorities," he said. Admitting that there is a kind of police inefficiency in handling the case, he said, "The police is ill-equipped because they don't have a forensic laboratory. Some reports are pending for years together as the final report is not available." The Russian embassy authorities in Delhi have also taken up the matter with the ministry of external affairs and requested them to investigate into the case.
The consul general met the chief secretary and IGP on Tuesday to discuss Elena's case and also discussed eight more cases that involved an assault on a Russian, arrests and a jail sentence slapped on a Russian, and two cases of robbery of Russian tourists.
Describing Elena as a college student, he said that her parents have asked for her nails and hair for DNA profiling as she her face is now unrecognizable.
Stating that the inefficiency gives a bad name to Goa, he said, "Most Russians are victims of crime and that is why we want a thorough investigation into the cases. We want the accused to be punished. We don't want to promote a negative image of Goa."
Criticizing the stand of home minister Ravi Naik, who blamed foreign tourists for tarnishing Goa's image by their late night lifestyle, he asked, "If late night parties are illegal, then the police should enforce the law and ensure that there are no violations. Why blame the tourists, who are coming here to relax?"
About 44,000 Russian tourists visited Goa during the tourist season of 2008-2009. "Russians are also looking at Kerala. Now, the competition between Goa and Kerala is going to increase," he said.
The Russian counsel said that though some of the cases have been finalized by the police, they found the "answers in the mentioned letters quite formal as they do not contain any concrete information about the course of investigation."
3 June, 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
No one saw Elena at the station: Shopkeeper, staff
No one saw Elena at the station: Shopkeeper, staff
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: In a further twist to the death of Russian teenager Elena Sukhanova, staff at the Thivim railway station have told TOI that they did not
see the girl at the station on the night her body was found on the tracks.
They insist that it would have been impossible for them to miss her as the collapsible gate to enter the platform at the station doesn't open till 4 am, one hour before the arrival of the Mangala Express.
It may be recalled that on May 8, Elena's body was found on the tracks about 3.5 km from the station. Police had said that from available evidence it appeared that Elena might have travelled either on the Mangala Express which left Thivim station at 5.02am or the Netravati Express which left the station at 7.09am and "somehow fallen from the train while she was travelling".
When TOI visited the station at about 3am on Friday, the collapsible gate to the platform was locked and passengers (mostly migrant labourers) were found to be fast asleep on the floor at
the entrance. At 4am, the gate was opened as the ticket counter had started issuing tickets for the Mangala Express. By 4.30am, the two shops in the station too opened for business.
"We don't open the collapsible gate at the station till 4am. Even if Elena was at the station, she would have had to wait outside and would have been noticed entering the platform once the gate was opened. Generally, whenever a lone tourist is brought to the station in a taxi in the night, the driver knocks at the gate and we allow the passenger to enter. But nothing of that sort happened on the night of May 8," a Thivim railway staffer told TOI. Elena's body was discovered at 7.45am. A shopkeeper at the station added, "No one saw her (Elena) here. It's surprising that all of us could have missed a lone, drunk foreign tourist."
Elena's Russian friends incidentally, had earlier told police that the teenagers had consumed beer on the night she died. "At about 2am (on May 8) myself, Natalia, Galina Evegeny, Georgy and Elena left Mambo's and went to the Baga beach. We all again consumed beer on the Baga beach sands. At about 2.30am myself, Natalia, Galina, Evegeny and Georgy decided to leave and go back to our hotel. However, Elena decided to stay back on the beach and continued having beer. She was in a drunken state," Russian tourist Andrey Dorin had said in her statement to the Mapusa police. She added that she was introduced to Elena a day before the latter's death during dinner at a beach shack and restaurant in Baga.
Meanwhile, Calangute police sources told TOI that the Traveller's Inn, a guest house where Elena was staying before her death, and the Baga-based Buckingham shack, whose owner she reportedly called her "boyfriend", "closed down a few days after the Russian girl's death". "Generally, the shack is open till the last week of May and the guest house is shut sometime in mid-June," said police sources. Shack owner Vishant Kundaikar told TOI, "It was a lean season and there were no customers. So I closed down the shack."
When contacted, senior police officials refused to comment saying investigations were on. Russian consul general Alexander Mantytsky is in Goa and is expected to meet the chief minister on Tuesday.
2 June,2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: In a further twist to the death of Russian teenager Elena Sukhanova, staff at the Thivim railway station have told TOI that they did not
see the girl at the station on the night her body was found on the tracks.
They insist that it would have been impossible for them to miss her as the collapsible gate to enter the platform at the station doesn't open till 4 am, one hour before the arrival of the Mangala Express.
It may be recalled that on May 8, Elena's body was found on the tracks about 3.5 km from the station. Police had said that from available evidence it appeared that Elena might have travelled either on the Mangala Express which left Thivim station at 5.02am or the Netravati Express which left the station at 7.09am and "somehow fallen from the train while she was travelling".
When TOI visited the station at about 3am on Friday, the collapsible gate to the platform was locked and passengers (mostly migrant labourers) were found to be fast asleep on the floor at
the entrance. At 4am, the gate was opened as the ticket counter had started issuing tickets for the Mangala Express. By 4.30am, the two shops in the station too opened for business.
"We don't open the collapsible gate at the station till 4am. Even if Elena was at the station, she would have had to wait outside and would have been noticed entering the platform once the gate was opened. Generally, whenever a lone tourist is brought to the station in a taxi in the night, the driver knocks at the gate and we allow the passenger to enter. But nothing of that sort happened on the night of May 8," a Thivim railway staffer told TOI. Elena's body was discovered at 7.45am. A shopkeeper at the station added, "No one saw her (Elena) here. It's surprising that all of us could have missed a lone, drunk foreign tourist."
Elena's Russian friends incidentally, had earlier told police that the teenagers had consumed beer on the night she died. "At about 2am (on May 8) myself, Natalia, Galina Evegeny, Georgy and Elena left Mambo's and went to the Baga beach. We all again consumed beer on the Baga beach sands. At about 2.30am myself, Natalia, Galina, Evegeny and Georgy decided to leave and go back to our hotel. However, Elena decided to stay back on the beach and continued having beer. She was in a drunken state," Russian tourist Andrey Dorin had said in her statement to the Mapusa police. She added that she was introduced to Elena a day before the latter's death during dinner at a beach shack and restaurant in Baga.
Meanwhile, Calangute police sources told TOI that the Traveller's Inn, a guest house where Elena was staying before her death, and the Baga-based Buckingham shack, whose owner she reportedly called her "boyfriend", "closed down a few days after the Russian girl's death". "Generally, the shack is open till the last week of May and the guest house is shut sometime in mid-June," said police sources. Shack owner Vishant Kundaikar told TOI, "It was a lean season and there were no customers. So I closed down the shack."
When contacted, senior police officials refused to comment saying investigations were on. Russian consul general Alexander Mantytsky is in Goa and is expected to meet the chief minister on Tuesday.
2 June,2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Why unnatural is natural for cops?
Why unnatural is natural for cops?
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: Of the 10 murders that Mahanand Naik has confessed to, five were registered as cases of unnatural death (UD) by the police and the cases were kept “open ended” for years.
Even as senior officials have called for the case papers to investigate into the circumstances under which the cases were registered as UDs, women activists say that dismissing a case as UD is common practice with the police. Sources say that over 70 cases are registered as UDs annually.
Sabina Martins of Bailancho Saad said, “This has been our major grievance with the police. Whenever there is a woman’s death and it’s a difficult case, rather than investigate, the police register it as UD. In the absence of public pressure, the police don’t investigate seriously, even when there is enough evidence pointing towards murder.”
Auda Veigas of Bailancho Ekvott, who has been a panch witness for the police in several cases, agreed and said, “Whenever an unknown young woman’s body is found, the police immediately conclude that it may be a ‘outsider’s body’. Instead of investigating it as a case of murder, they dismiss it as an unnatural death and terminate investigations.”
Explaining the reasons behind the police tendency to register potential murders as UDs, former SP Alex Rasquinha said it is to avoid extensive paper work and to project a lower crime rate. “Once a case is registered as a murder, there are several formalities. Besides, a UD doesn’t reflect on the crime graph. The police don’t want to show an increase in murders with a low detection rate as it signifies a lack of supervision,” he said.
He added that the most common excuse the police adopt in keeping a case as UD is that the viscera report is awaited.
26 May 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: Of the 10 murders that Mahanand Naik has confessed to, five were registered as cases of unnatural death (UD) by the police and the cases were kept “open ended” for years.
Even as senior officials have called for the case papers to investigate into the circumstances under which the cases were registered as UDs, women activists say that dismissing a case as UD is common practice with the police. Sources say that over 70 cases are registered as UDs annually.
Sabina Martins of Bailancho Saad said, “This has been our major grievance with the police. Whenever there is a woman’s death and it’s a difficult case, rather than investigate, the police register it as UD. In the absence of public pressure, the police don’t investigate seriously, even when there is enough evidence pointing towards murder.”
Auda Veigas of Bailancho Ekvott, who has been a panch witness for the police in several cases, agreed and said, “Whenever an unknown young woman’s body is found, the police immediately conclude that it may be a ‘outsider’s body’. Instead of investigating it as a case of murder, they dismiss it as an unnatural death and terminate investigations.”
Explaining the reasons behind the police tendency to register potential murders as UDs, former SP Alex Rasquinha said it is to avoid extensive paper work and to project a lower crime rate. “Once a case is registered as a murder, there are several formalities. Besides, a UD doesn’t reflect on the crime graph. The police don’t want to show an increase in murders with a low detection rate as it signifies a lack of supervision,” he said.
He added that the most common excuse the police adopt in keeping a case as UD is that the viscera report is awaited.
26 May 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Scarlett's organs sent to UK coroner, says mother
Scarlett's organs sent to UK coroner, says mother
Preetu Nair , TNN
PANAJI: Fiona MacKeown, mother of the slain British teenager Scarlett Keeling, said that the Indian authorities have finally released the remaining organs of her daughter and they have been sent to the coroner in the UK. However, Scarlett will not be buried till the investigations in India are over, she added.
Speaking to TOI from her home in Devon, Fiona said, "I haven't received the organs yet, but everything is proceeding in the right direction. The CBI has released the organs. The organs won't come to me but go directly to the UK coroner".
Scarlett was found dead at the Anjuna beach on February 18, 2008. First, the police dismissed it as a case of unnatural death, but later they arrested two people for drugging and raping Scarlett before leaving her to die on the beach, but MacKeown alleged cover-up.
"There is half a uterus and a piece of liver and kidney as far as I know. The UK coroner is very keen to do tests on the uterus and the kidney. I expect the uterus will reveal Scarlett's sexual activities before she died and the kidney should reveal details of drink and drugs that were consumed before she died although tests on hair have already been done to expose this," she said.
Incidentally, MacKeown, while taking Scarlett's body to UK, had said that she would conduct tests in UK. But when the UK coroner revealed that several of her body parts were missing, MacKeown alleged that she was kept in the dark about the missing organs by the forensic doctors and police.
"I had expected them to take bits, samples, but I brought her back and there was a lot missing. Her spleen and her uterus. All that had gone. They told me it was normal procedure, but I tried to tie them down to find out what the exact procedure was, but there isn't one. It seems that they do what they want", she had said.
Though now happy that she has finally got her daughter's organs, she admitted that it would be sometime before she would be able to bury her daughter. "I don't think the coroner will let me bury her until the investigations are over in India. I don't even know when her body will be released to me," she added.
Meanwhile, the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) has approached the high court of Bombay at Goa for a letter of request to interrogate two British citizens in connection with the murder of 15-year-old Scarlett. In a petition filed in the court, the investigating agency has said that a letter rogatory, or a formal request, from the court is essential to question the victim's mother Mackeown and Charles Carter, who had allegedly seen Scarlett sometime before she was found dead on Anjuna beach. A letter rogatory is a formal communication sent by a court to a foreign court seeking the latter's assistance in recording the statements of witnesses residing there.
25 May 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair , TNN
PANAJI: Fiona MacKeown, mother of the slain British teenager Scarlett Keeling, said that the Indian authorities have finally released the remaining organs of her daughter and they have been sent to the coroner in the UK. However, Scarlett will not be buried till the investigations in India are over, she added.
Speaking to TOI from her home in Devon, Fiona said, "I haven't received the organs yet, but everything is proceeding in the right direction. The CBI has released the organs. The organs won't come to me but go directly to the UK coroner".
Scarlett was found dead at the Anjuna beach on February 18, 2008. First, the police dismissed it as a case of unnatural death, but later they arrested two people for drugging and raping Scarlett before leaving her to die on the beach, but MacKeown alleged cover-up.
"There is half a uterus and a piece of liver and kidney as far as I know. The UK coroner is very keen to do tests on the uterus and the kidney. I expect the uterus will reveal Scarlett's sexual activities before she died and the kidney should reveal details of drink and drugs that were consumed before she died although tests on hair have already been done to expose this," she said.
Incidentally, MacKeown, while taking Scarlett's body to UK, had said that she would conduct tests in UK. But when the UK coroner revealed that several of her body parts were missing, MacKeown alleged that she was kept in the dark about the missing organs by the forensic doctors and police.
"I had expected them to take bits, samples, but I brought her back and there was a lot missing. Her spleen and her uterus. All that had gone. They told me it was normal procedure, but I tried to tie them down to find out what the exact procedure was, but there isn't one. It seems that they do what they want", she had said.
Though now happy that she has finally got her daughter's organs, she admitted that it would be sometime before she would be able to bury her daughter. "I don't think the coroner will let me bury her until the investigations are over in India. I don't even know when her body will be released to me," she added.
Meanwhile, the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) has approached the high court of Bombay at Goa for a letter of request to interrogate two British citizens in connection with the murder of 15-year-old Scarlett. In a petition filed in the court, the investigating agency has said that a letter rogatory, or a formal request, from the court is essential to question the victim's mother Mackeown and Charles Carter, who had allegedly seen Scarlett sometime before she was found dead on Anjuna beach. A letter rogatory is a formal communication sent by a court to a foreign court seeking the latter's assistance in recording the statements of witnesses residing there.
25 May 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Mahanand raped me for 4 years, says victim
Mahanand raped me for 4 years, says victim
Preetu Nair & Rajeshree Nagarsekar, TNN
PANAJI: A rape survivor revealed that dupatta killer Mahanand Naik raped her everyday for four years and then lured her with gold, clothes and promises of marriage. When she objected, he threatened her, she alleged.
"For four years, he wouldn't allow me to talk to anyone. If I talked to a man, he would threaten me. Two years ago I got a marriage proposal from Ponda. Mahanand went to the boy and told him that I am his girl', thereby destroying my marriage prospects," revealed Reema Naik, 23.
She says that there were times when she wanted to attack him but was too afraid to do anything. "He threatened me with dire consequences and I believed him for four years. Every time he raped me, he warned that if I tried to break off or go to the police, then he will defame me with my semi-nude photos. He used to get frequent calls from girls on his mobile, but he would avoid speaking to them in my presence. I dared not question him, as my mind and heart were filled with fear," said Reema.
However, in April, the victim pulled the plug on Mahanand when she spilled the beans to the Ponda police. The police immediately arrested Mahanand for raping the 23-year-old. Later, while in custody, he confessed to killing 10 women after promising to marry them.
Mahanand now faces charges in connection with the alleged murder of 10 women and rape of the 23-year-old. The police also recovered the victim's photo as well as several mobile phones buried in a room at Mahanand's house in Shiroda, about 3 km away from her home.
Though she has forgotten how many times Mahanand raped her, she says that she still remembers that she was first raped on June 21, 2005 in Mahanand's house. She can still remember her helpless scream for help, which was reduced to a whisper in the coming years, she said.
Interestingly, Mahanand never beat her or tried to kill her. On the contrary, he lured her with promises of marriage, jewellery and clothes. "He gifted me clothes, gold jewellery and also promised to marry me. I had no option but to believe him as I had no one to turn to for help," she said.
She claims that she struggled to ignore her doubts. She kept trying to put the pieces together. "When I asked him how he, an unemployed person, got the money to purchase gifts for me, he dodged my questions, manipulated me and I kept on suppressing my growing suspicions out of fear and uncertainty," she said.
"I still picture him coming at odd times to my home, watching me, ready to abuse me. His presence shattered our lives and led to frequent fights with my younger sister," she added. For Reema, her struggle for justice has just started.
(Name of victim changed)
23 May 2009,The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair & Rajeshree Nagarsekar, TNN
PANAJI: A rape survivor revealed that dupatta killer Mahanand Naik raped her everyday for four years and then lured her with gold, clothes and promises of marriage. When she objected, he threatened her, she alleged.
"For four years, he wouldn't allow me to talk to anyone. If I talked to a man, he would threaten me. Two years ago I got a marriage proposal from Ponda. Mahanand went to the boy and told him that I am his girl', thereby destroying my marriage prospects," revealed Reema Naik, 23.
She says that there were times when she wanted to attack him but was too afraid to do anything. "He threatened me with dire consequences and I believed him for four years. Every time he raped me, he warned that if I tried to break off or go to the police, then he will defame me with my semi-nude photos. He used to get frequent calls from girls on his mobile, but he would avoid speaking to them in my presence. I dared not question him, as my mind and heart were filled with fear," said Reema.
However, in April, the victim pulled the plug on Mahanand when she spilled the beans to the Ponda police. The police immediately arrested Mahanand for raping the 23-year-old. Later, while in custody, he confessed to killing 10 women after promising to marry them.
Mahanand now faces charges in connection with the alleged murder of 10 women and rape of the 23-year-old. The police also recovered the victim's photo as well as several mobile phones buried in a room at Mahanand's house in Shiroda, about 3 km away from her home.
Though she has forgotten how many times Mahanand raped her, she says that she still remembers that she was first raped on June 21, 2005 in Mahanand's house. She can still remember her helpless scream for help, which was reduced to a whisper in the coming years, she said.
Interestingly, Mahanand never beat her or tried to kill her. On the contrary, he lured her with promises of marriage, jewellery and clothes. "He gifted me clothes, gold jewellery and also promised to marry me. I had no option but to believe him as I had no one to turn to for help," she said.
She claims that she struggled to ignore her doubts. She kept trying to put the pieces together. "When I asked him how he, an unemployed person, got the money to purchase gifts for me, he dodged my questions, manipulated me and I kept on suppressing my growing suspicions out of fear and uncertainty," she said.
"I still picture him coming at odd times to my home, watching me, ready to abuse me. His presence shattered our lives and led to frequent fights with my younger sister," she added. For Reema, her struggle for justice has just started.
(Name of victim changed)
23 May 2009,The Times of India, Goa edition
'Deepali spoke to bro on May 19'
'Deepali spoke to bro on May 19'
Preetu Nair & Rajeshree Nagarsekar, TNN
PANAJI: The alleged kidnapping and murder of 22-year-old Deepali Jotkar of Davorlim took an interesting turn on Friday with her parents informing the Maina Curtorim police that their son was recently in touch with Deepali.
Speaking to TOI, Deepali's mother Reshma said that Bhupendra informed them on Friday, that he received a call from Deepali on Tuesday (May 19) from a cellphone in Pune.
"My son told us that my Deepali had called him on his mobile and she was crying bitterly. She told him that she is in Pune and is not allowed to speak to anyone. This is the first call she made to us after she went missing in 2006," Reshma said, recalling that previous efforts by the family and police to contact Deepali on her cellphone had proved futile.
It may be recalled that the Jotkars on May 11, filed a case with the Maina Curtorim police outpost, alleging that Deepali was a possible victim of alleged murderer Mahanand Naik.
Drawing parallels between Mahanand's 10 victims and Deepali, the parents had told the police that on November 23, 2006, the day she disappeared, Deepali too was carrying cash and wearing jewellery. Moreover, she left home without informing her parents and left behind a note that said: "I am going to Mumbai with my boyfriend and we will get married. You don't search for me. Don't doubt or blame anyone". Neighbours too revealed that they had seen the alleged dupatta killer, who was known to the Jotkars, dropping Deepali close to her home almost everyday.
Adding fuel was the statement of Reema Naik (name changed), an alleged rape victim of Mahanand's, who told TOI that "Mahanand's wife suspected her husband was having an extra marital affair with Deepali".
"Once in 2006, Deepali even called Mahanand on his mobile. When I picked up the phone, she introduced herself and asked for Mahanand, who immediately came and cut the line. I have also seen her photograph at Mahanand's house," Reema had told TOI.
Police officials told TOI that the new turn of eventsthe mobile call from Punewould be inquired into.
Meanwhile, the Jotkars have another tale of woe. In 2005, younger daughter Pallavi, then 17, went missing.
"I worked in the Gulf as a housemaid for 14 years. I worked hard, sometimes under unhealthy conditions, just to ensure a better future for my daughters. But when I returned to Goa in 2005, Pallavi disappeared. A year later, so did Deepali. When efforts to trace them failed, we thought of lodging missing persons complaints, but were scared of the public backlash. We thought the girls were happy in their marital homes," Reshma told TOI.
However, when Mahanand's exploits came to light, things changed. "Both Deepali and Pallavi were close to Mahanand who had come to our house with them. They introduced him as their friend and we had given him the contract work to repair our house on our daughters' recommendations," recalled the mother.
With Mahanand allegedly confessing to the murders of 10 women, the senior Jotkars, who till recently believed their younger daughter was in Kolhapur with her husband, now feel that Pallavi too might have been killed by Mahanand.
"All this while we were ashamed that our daughters had eloped. We were scared to face people. But not anymore. We will lodge another complaint with the police against Mahanand, this time for kidnapping Pallavi," father Dattaram told TOI.
The parents had consulted astrologers. "An astrologer recently told me that my daughter is alive," said Reshma, adding, "I just want to see both my daughters."
23 May 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair & Rajeshree Nagarsekar, TNN
PANAJI: The alleged kidnapping and murder of 22-year-old Deepali Jotkar of Davorlim took an interesting turn on Friday with her parents informing the Maina Curtorim police that their son was recently in touch with Deepali.
Speaking to TOI, Deepali's mother Reshma said that Bhupendra informed them on Friday, that he received a call from Deepali on Tuesday (May 19) from a cellphone in Pune.
"My son told us that my Deepali had called him on his mobile and she was crying bitterly. She told him that she is in Pune and is not allowed to speak to anyone. This is the first call she made to us after she went missing in 2006," Reshma said, recalling that previous efforts by the family and police to contact Deepali on her cellphone had proved futile.
It may be recalled that the Jotkars on May 11, filed a case with the Maina Curtorim police outpost, alleging that Deepali was a possible victim of alleged murderer Mahanand Naik.
Drawing parallels between Mahanand's 10 victims and Deepali, the parents had told the police that on November 23, 2006, the day she disappeared, Deepali too was carrying cash and wearing jewellery. Moreover, she left home without informing her parents and left behind a note that said: "I am going to Mumbai with my boyfriend and we will get married. You don't search for me. Don't doubt or blame anyone". Neighbours too revealed that they had seen the alleged dupatta killer, who was known to the Jotkars, dropping Deepali close to her home almost everyday.
Adding fuel was the statement of Reema Naik (name changed), an alleged rape victim of Mahanand's, who told TOI that "Mahanand's wife suspected her husband was having an extra marital affair with Deepali".
"Once in 2006, Deepali even called Mahanand on his mobile. When I picked up the phone, she introduced herself and asked for Mahanand, who immediately came and cut the line. I have also seen her photograph at Mahanand's house," Reema had told TOI.
Police officials told TOI that the new turn of eventsthe mobile call from Punewould be inquired into.
Meanwhile, the Jotkars have another tale of woe. In 2005, younger daughter Pallavi, then 17, went missing.
"I worked in the Gulf as a housemaid for 14 years. I worked hard, sometimes under unhealthy conditions, just to ensure a better future for my daughters. But when I returned to Goa in 2005, Pallavi disappeared. A year later, so did Deepali. When efforts to trace them failed, we thought of lodging missing persons complaints, but were scared of the public backlash. We thought the girls were happy in their marital homes," Reshma told TOI.
However, when Mahanand's exploits came to light, things changed. "Both Deepali and Pallavi were close to Mahanand who had come to our house with them. They introduced him as their friend and we had given him the contract work to repair our house on our daughters' recommendations," recalled the mother.
With Mahanand allegedly confessing to the murders of 10 women, the senior Jotkars, who till recently believed their younger daughter was in Kolhapur with her husband, now feel that Pallavi too might have been killed by Mahanand.
"All this while we were ashamed that our daughters had eloped. We were scared to face people. But not anymore. We will lodge another complaint with the police against Mahanand, this time for kidnapping Pallavi," father Dattaram told TOI.
The parents had consulted astrologers. "An astrologer recently told me that my daughter is alive," said Reshma, adding, "I just want to see both my daughters."
23 May 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Friday, May 22, 2009
'Elena could hardly talk English'
'Elena could hardly talk English'
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: Elena Sukhonova, the Russian teenager whose mutilated body was found on a railway track in Goa on May 8, could not speak English. This places in doubt the claim that she took a taxi ride to Thivim railway station and told the driver she was short of money and wanted to go to Mumbai.
People working in the coastal belt and who had come in contact with Elena say she showed no interest in staying in Goa, couldn’t speak any English and mostly communicated through sign language. The little English she spoke was with great difficulty. “Whenever we wanted to communicate with her, we used the services of a translator. She would try to talk in sign language. The only words in English she could say were single words like ‘water’, ‘hello’, ‘bye’, ‘mineral’, ‘party’, and that too with great difficulty,” said an employee of the hotel where Elena stayed after her arrival in Goa on April 19.
A cop at Calangute police station, where Elena had deposed after she had gone missing on an earlier instance, said, “She could hardly speak in English and we recorded her statement with the help of a translator.”
In his statement to the police, the cab driver said he had dropped Elena at Thivim station at about 3am on May 8 and that she had mentioned that she wanted to go to Mumbai. Police have, however, failed to find any witness who saw her at the station.
Reacting to this, SP (North) Tony Fernandes said, “The inquiry is in progress. We are looking into all aspects of the case.”
Representatives of the tour operator that brought Elena to Goa had got in touch with her family after she went missing. “She was supposed to board a flight to Russia on May 3, but when she went missing we informed her parents in Russia. They too told us she was not responding to calls on her cellphone,” said officials at the agency.
22 May 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: Elena Sukhonova, the Russian teenager whose mutilated body was found on a railway track in Goa on May 8, could not speak English. This places in doubt the claim that she took a taxi ride to Thivim railway station and told the driver she was short of money and wanted to go to Mumbai.
People working in the coastal belt and who had come in contact with Elena say she showed no interest in staying in Goa, couldn’t speak any English and mostly communicated through sign language. The little English she spoke was with great difficulty. “Whenever we wanted to communicate with her, we used the services of a translator. She would try to talk in sign language. The only words in English she could say were single words like ‘water’, ‘hello’, ‘bye’, ‘mineral’, ‘party’, and that too with great difficulty,” said an employee of the hotel where Elena stayed after her arrival in Goa on April 19.
A cop at Calangute police station, where Elena had deposed after she had gone missing on an earlier instance, said, “She could hardly speak in English and we recorded her statement with the help of a translator.”
In his statement to the police, the cab driver said he had dropped Elena at Thivim station at about 3am on May 8 and that she had mentioned that she wanted to go to Mumbai. Police have, however, failed to find any witness who saw her at the station.
Reacting to this, SP (North) Tony Fernandes said, “The inquiry is in progress. We are looking into all aspects of the case.”
Representatives of the tour operator that brought Elena to Goa had got in touch with her family after she went missing. “She was supposed to board a flight to Russia on May 3, but when she went missing we informed her parents in Russia. They too told us she was not responding to calls on her cellphone,” said officials at the agency.
22 May 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Thursday, May 21, 2009
My life has become living hell: Pooja Naik
My life has become living hell: Pooja Naik
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: Pooja Naik's world collapsed when her husband was arrested in the last week of April for raping her friend. Since then she has learnt that her husband, Mahanand, has confessed to killing 9 women.
As if that weren't enough, Pooja claims she and her 18 month old daughter have been "socially ostracized" by the villagers of Shiroda for no fault of theirs.
"Some people have said they would kill me and my daughter with a dupatta, in the same way my husband killed other women. I am scared. Why am I and my daughter being punished for my husband's sins? No one can ever understand my pain and suffering. Our lives have become a living hell," said Pooja.
An angry mob recently set alight their home in Shiroda, and marched to Ponda police station demanding Pooja's arrest. From then on, Pooja has been seeking refuge at a friend's place or at her parent's home in Sanvordem, as some homes for women, fearing a public blacklash, have refused to shelter her.
On Monday afternoon, Pooja was at the Panaji police station seeking rehabilitation and was sent to a safe destination with the help of the NGO Bailancho Ekvott. "I'm scared of being recognized. The pressure is killing me and I feel suicidal at times," she said.
"I never thought that my husband could kill women. Which wife will suspect her loving and kind husband of murder? In the last 11 years of marriage, I had no reason to suspect him," said Pooja. She now believes otherwise.
"I met him (Mahanand) in jail recently and asked him if he had committed the murders or if he was being framed. For the first time in our relationship, he didn't reply and sat for minutes together with his head bent, even as I repeated the question," said Pooja, who works as a clerk in a central government organization.
"It was then that my world collapsed. I wondered whether he was the same person who had never even lifted his hand against me and would pack my lunch tiffin daily," she said.
Pooja and Mahanand were married in 1998. Theirs was an arranged marriage. "A cousin had married Mahanand's relative and she was happy. When Mahanand proposed, everyone agreed. I was happy because he worked as an autorickshaw driver and didn't drink," recollects Pooja, who comes from a lower middle income family from Sanvordem. The couple had a daughter 10 years later.
Mahanand's first alleged murder was in 1994 and he has confessed to killing eight other women during the last 15 years. Police believe there could be a dozen more. However, they maintain there is no evidence to suspect Pooja's involvement in any of the alleged murders.
Incidentally, the Ponda police on Monday recorded Pooja's statement with regard to the killing of nine women by her husband. She has revealed that Mahanand was well-off despite being unemployed, the police said. Pooja has neither been detained nor arrested.
"As the case stands today, there is no evidence of his wife's involvement in the murders," said deputy superintendent of police (Ponda) Serafin Dias.
But people are not willing to listen. "People look at me with suspicion. They feel that I supported my husband in his crimes. My fault is that I didn't distrust him. He was jobless. Occasionally he brought home money. When I questioned him he would say that he had taken up painting work or borrowed money from his mother. I had no reason to doubt him," she added.
Another woman reported missing
PONDA: Another case of a missing woman has been registered with the Ponda police on Monday against Mahanand Naik, the alleged 40-year-old dupatta killer' from Shiroda.
Ponda police inspector C L said that Nirmal Satarkar has registered a complaint that her sister, Bhagi Fondu Satarkar, 30, has been missing from Bhootkhamb Keri in Ponda since the year 2004.
As per the complaint, the 30-year-old woman had left her home in 2004 with jewellery which included golden bangles, a necklace, two earrings and a chain.
19 May 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: Pooja Naik's world collapsed when her husband was arrested in the last week of April for raping her friend. Since then she has learnt that her husband, Mahanand, has confessed to killing 9 women.
As if that weren't enough, Pooja claims she and her 18 month old daughter have been "socially ostracized" by the villagers of Shiroda for no fault of theirs.
"Some people have said they would kill me and my daughter with a dupatta, in the same way my husband killed other women. I am scared. Why am I and my daughter being punished for my husband's sins? No one can ever understand my pain and suffering. Our lives have become a living hell," said Pooja.
An angry mob recently set alight their home in Shiroda, and marched to Ponda police station demanding Pooja's arrest. From then on, Pooja has been seeking refuge at a friend's place or at her parent's home in Sanvordem, as some homes for women, fearing a public blacklash, have refused to shelter her.
On Monday afternoon, Pooja was at the Panaji police station seeking rehabilitation and was sent to a safe destination with the help of the NGO Bailancho Ekvott. "I'm scared of being recognized. The pressure is killing me and I feel suicidal at times," she said.
"I never thought that my husband could kill women. Which wife will suspect her loving and kind husband of murder? In the last 11 years of marriage, I had no reason to suspect him," said Pooja. She now believes otherwise.
"I met him (Mahanand) in jail recently and asked him if he had committed the murders or if he was being framed. For the first time in our relationship, he didn't reply and sat for minutes together with his head bent, even as I repeated the question," said Pooja, who works as a clerk in a central government organization.
"It was then that my world collapsed. I wondered whether he was the same person who had never even lifted his hand against me and would pack my lunch tiffin daily," she said.
Pooja and Mahanand were married in 1998. Theirs was an arranged marriage. "A cousin had married Mahanand's relative and she was happy. When Mahanand proposed, everyone agreed. I was happy because he worked as an autorickshaw driver and didn't drink," recollects Pooja, who comes from a lower middle income family from Sanvordem. The couple had a daughter 10 years later.
Mahanand's first alleged murder was in 1994 and he has confessed to killing eight other women during the last 15 years. Police believe there could be a dozen more. However, they maintain there is no evidence to suspect Pooja's involvement in any of the alleged murders.
Incidentally, the Ponda police on Monday recorded Pooja's statement with regard to the killing of nine women by her husband. She has revealed that Mahanand was well-off despite being unemployed, the police said. Pooja has neither been detained nor arrested.
"As the case stands today, there is no evidence of his wife's involvement in the murders," said deputy superintendent of police (Ponda) Serafin Dias.
But people are not willing to listen. "People look at me with suspicion. They feel that I supported my husband in his crimes. My fault is that I didn't distrust him. He was jobless. Occasionally he brought home money. When I questioned him he would say that he had taken up painting work or borrowed money from his mother. I had no reason to doubt him," she added.
Another woman reported missing
PONDA: Another case of a missing woman has been registered with the Ponda police on Monday against Mahanand Naik, the alleged 40-year-old dupatta killer' from Shiroda.
Ponda police inspector C L said that Nirmal Satarkar has registered a complaint that her sister, Bhagi Fondu Satarkar, 30, has been missing from Bhootkhamb Keri in Ponda since the year 2004.
As per the complaint, the 30-year-old woman had left her home in 2004 with jewellery which included golden bangles, a necklace, two earrings and a chain.
19 May 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Goa election officers called 'morally inept'
Goa election officers called 'morally inept'
TNN
PANAJI: Goa Legislative Assembly's ad hoc committee on home issued an "admonition" against chief electoral officer and assistant electoral officer for writing to the Goa legislature secretariat questioning the committee's powers, functions and duties.
The admonition was issued on Wednesday during the ad hoc committee meeting on home in response to a letter send by AEO Arvind Bugde on May 14, which stated that officers of the Goa government require clearance from the Election Commission of India for appearance before the Committee and also sought a copy of the Rules of Procedure that constituted the Committee. The letter was approved by CEO Ajit Srivastava and home minister Ravi Naik.
The admonition notes that Bugde and Srivastava have displayed utter ignorance of the working of the Constitution of India and the fragile balance of power between various organs of the state. "The Committee comes to the conclusion that both the officers are professionally delinquent and morally inept to hold public office in such senior capacities in the government," it states. Srivastava requested the committee that a show cause notice should be issued to them before issuing the "admonition", but the committee declined. Later, Srivastava said that his objection should be recorded, but that plea was also not entertained by the committee which said "any act in the nature of repetition of the present misdemeanor will warrant a stronger action against each one of them".
The ad hoc committee meeting on home was called to hear the views of the public on issues coming under the jurisdiction of the Committee. The Committee heard the chairman of ad hoc committee Manohar Parrikar and the CEO at its meeting on May 20, and after hearing them, the Committee said that they have "come to the conclusion that both the officers have grossly breached the privileges of the Committee by stating that government officers have to take clearance from the Election Commission of India to appear before the Committee since model Code of Conduct is in force and by seeking a copy of the Rules of Procedure of the House that constituted the Committee".
Parrikar observed, "The Goa Legislative Assembly and its committees are sovereign bodies which function within the Constitutionally laid out perimeter. No law which has not been made either by Parliament or the state legislature can encumber such powers, privileges and immunities".
"The Committee's attention is also drawn to the principle of accountability of the executive to the Legislature as enshrined in article 164 (2) of the Constitution of India which cannot be extinguished even for a second for any reason whatsoever. Committees of the Legislature are the nodal apparatus through which the said article is machinated", he noted.
Further, emphasizing that the Legislature and its Committees do not require anyone's clearance for performing their functions, he said, "No one can be as audacious as the said officers of the government of Goa, to call for the Rules of Procedure of the House with an intention to question the Legislature and its Committees which is a brazen assault on the people's rights and liberties to have their representatives function through the House and its Committees and is the most pernicious attempt to stifle the voice of the people as represented in these institutions". The Chief Secretary also has been asked to make a mention in their personal confidential dossiers about the fact of having received this admonition at the hands of this Committee.
May 21,2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
TNN
PANAJI: Goa Legislative Assembly's ad hoc committee on home issued an "admonition" against chief electoral officer and assistant electoral officer for writing to the Goa legislature secretariat questioning the committee's powers, functions and duties.
The admonition was issued on Wednesday during the ad hoc committee meeting on home in response to a letter send by AEO Arvind Bugde on May 14, which stated that officers of the Goa government require clearance from the Election Commission of India for appearance before the Committee and also sought a copy of the Rules of Procedure that constituted the Committee. The letter was approved by CEO Ajit Srivastava and home minister Ravi Naik.
The admonition notes that Bugde and Srivastava have displayed utter ignorance of the working of the Constitution of India and the fragile balance of power between various organs of the state. "The Committee comes to the conclusion that both the officers are professionally delinquent and morally inept to hold public office in such senior capacities in the government," it states. Srivastava requested the committee that a show cause notice should be issued to them before issuing the "admonition", but the committee declined. Later, Srivastava said that his objection should be recorded, but that plea was also not entertained by the committee which said "any act in the nature of repetition of the present misdemeanor will warrant a stronger action against each one of them".
The ad hoc committee meeting on home was called to hear the views of the public on issues coming under the jurisdiction of the Committee. The Committee heard the chairman of ad hoc committee Manohar Parrikar and the CEO at its meeting on May 20, and after hearing them, the Committee said that they have "come to the conclusion that both the officers have grossly breached the privileges of the Committee by stating that government officers have to take clearance from the Election Commission of India to appear before the Committee since model Code of Conduct is in force and by seeking a copy of the Rules of Procedure of the House that constituted the Committee".
Parrikar observed, "The Goa Legislative Assembly and its committees are sovereign bodies which function within the Constitutionally laid out perimeter. No law which has not been made either by Parliament or the state legislature can encumber such powers, privileges and immunities".
"The Committee's attention is also drawn to the principle of accountability of the executive to the Legislature as enshrined in article 164 (2) of the Constitution of India which cannot be extinguished even for a second for any reason whatsoever. Committees of the Legislature are the nodal apparatus through which the said article is machinated", he noted.
Further, emphasizing that the Legislature and its Committees do not require anyone's clearance for performing their functions, he said, "No one can be as audacious as the said officers of the government of Goa, to call for the Rules of Procedure of the House with an intention to question the Legislature and its Committees which is a brazen assault on the people's rights and liberties to have their representatives function through the House and its Committees and is the most pernicious attempt to stifle the voice of the people as represented in these institutions". The Chief Secretary also has been asked to make a mention in their personal confidential dossiers about the fact of having received this admonition at the hands of this Committee.
May 21,2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Panandiker snubs govt, declines office
Panandiker snubs govt, declines office
Preetu Nair
PANAJI: V A Pai Panandiker, academician and founder president of the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, has declined an invitation to be a member of the Goa State Planning Board.
Citing his reasons, in a letter to the chief minister dated May 14, Panandiker noted that “the priorities and performance of planning have declined precipitously, especially in the 21st century” in Goa and that there is an “increasing dissonance between the priorities of the people and of the government”.
Panandiker also stated that “except for Goa’s real estate, there is no political constituency for the next phase of Goa’s evolution” and refused to sit on the Planning Board as it “does not serve any useful purpose and I certainly do not wish to impose my costs on the people of Goa”.
The planning board is the state’s highest policy advisory body, making recommendations on macro-economic policies and the implementation of development plans, and has the CM as its chairperson.
Chief minister Digambar Kamat, however, denied knowledge of the letter. “I am in Delhi at the moment and I don’t know about it,” Kamat told TOI.
In his letter Panandiker also states, “I do feel deeply concerned about the people of Goa, especially the young children who constitute our future. The political priorities being so different from what the people need or desire, there is an increasing dissonance between the priorities of the people and those of the government. This bodes ill for our future.”
20 May 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair
PANAJI: V A Pai Panandiker, academician and founder president of the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, has declined an invitation to be a member of the Goa State Planning Board.
Citing his reasons, in a letter to the chief minister dated May 14, Panandiker noted that “the priorities and performance of planning have declined precipitously, especially in the 21st century” in Goa and that there is an “increasing dissonance between the priorities of the people and of the government”.
Panandiker also stated that “except for Goa’s real estate, there is no political constituency for the next phase of Goa’s evolution” and refused to sit on the Planning Board as it “does not serve any useful purpose and I certainly do not wish to impose my costs on the people of Goa”.
The planning board is the state’s highest policy advisory body, making recommendations on macro-economic policies and the implementation of development plans, and has the CM as its chairperson.
Chief minister Digambar Kamat, however, denied knowledge of the letter. “I am in Delhi at the moment and I don’t know about it,” Kamat told TOI.
In his letter Panandiker also states, “I do feel deeply concerned about the people of Goa, especially the young children who constitute our future. The political priorities being so different from what the people need or desire, there is an increasing dissonance between the priorities of the people and those of the government. This bodes ill for our future.”
20 May 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Monday, May 18, 2009
Train drivers say they didn't run over Russian girl
Train drivers say they didn't run over Russian girl
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: The drivers of three express trains that passed Thivim railway station on the night of May 8, have told Mapusa police that no train ran
over the Russian girl, Elena Sukhonova. They have, however, not ruled out the possibility of a runover which went unnoticed, said police sources.
Elena's mutilated body was found by a railway gangman at 7.45am, about 3.5 km from Thivim railway station. Police investigations revealed that she was dropped at the station by a yellow cab driver at around 3am.
Speaking to TOI, police sources said that the drivers of Mangala Express which left Thivim railway station at 5.02am, Netravati Express which left at 7.09 am (both proceeding to Mumbai) and Veraval Express which reached the station at 7.35 am (proceeding to Kerala), claimed that they did not see anything on the tracks nor reported any runover or chain pulling incident in their respective trains on May 8.
This has left the police "intrigued". They had initially expressed the possibility of an accidental fall from either Mangala Express or Netravati Express, both bound for Mumbai.
"Elena was travelling with just her handbag, without either her passport nor luggage. Had she fallen out of either Mangala Express or Netravati Express, she would have been found on the tracks by the driver of Hapa Express. But the main loco pilot of Hapa Express said that neither did they see anything nor report any runover," police sources revealed.
The driver told police, sources said, that in the past there had been several cases of people run over by a train, which had been reported to the nearest railway station, but this time they had not seen anything on the tracks. And while the three train drivers maintain that they did not run over any body, they did not rule out the possibility of a runover.
"They said that they may have run over something, but may have not realized or noticed, as they have to manage several things at once. Apart from looking for the signal they also have to maintain a speed of 110km/hr, ensure that the oil pressure and diesel pressure are good and also handle other aspects," police sources said. Each train has one main and one assistant loco pilot. All were grilled for hours by police officers.
"The drivers said that if anything is lying on the tracks it is visible only from 100m. Even if they apply brakes at that distance, the train doesn't immediately halt. It comes to a halt nearly 600m away from where the break is applied. So the possibility of stopping the train to avoid a runover is remote," said police sources.
They further revealed that the drivers told them that in case of a runover, they don't stop the train to check, but rather, they inform the nearest railway station and the railway control room. "They said that for every minute lost, they have to give an explanation," police sources said.
These statements, incidentally, are in contrast to the statement given by the Thivim railway station master, who had said that if a train's driver spots any obstruction on the tracks he stops the train, clears the tracks and then proceeds.
Police also said that the main loco pilot of Mangala Express said that he had not seen anything on the tracks as it was dark and though as per the train standard the train should have had a headlight with visibility up to 240m, the headlight's actual visibility, when it passed through the route on May 8, was only 140m.
Elena was carrying her mobile and police claim that she had even clicked a photograph of a goods wagon passing Thivim railway station a few hours before her death, thus establishing her presence at the railway station at about 3.25am. Police sources added, "This was the last time the mobile was used."
Meanwhile, another waiter, Vir Singh, from Himachal Pradesh, who was asked to quit his job in the hotel at Baga as he was friendly with the Russian girl has arrived in Goa along with his father. He had reportedly left Goa on May 6.
May 18,2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: The drivers of three express trains that passed Thivim railway station on the night of May 8, have told Mapusa police that no train ran
over the Russian girl, Elena Sukhonova. They have, however, not ruled out the possibility of a runover which went unnoticed, said police sources.
Elena's mutilated body was found by a railway gangman at 7.45am, about 3.5 km from Thivim railway station. Police investigations revealed that she was dropped at the station by a yellow cab driver at around 3am.
Speaking to TOI, police sources said that the drivers of Mangala Express which left Thivim railway station at 5.02am, Netravati Express which left at 7.09 am (both proceeding to Mumbai) and Veraval Express which reached the station at 7.35 am (proceeding to Kerala), claimed that they did not see anything on the tracks nor reported any runover or chain pulling incident in their respective trains on May 8.
This has left the police "intrigued". They had initially expressed the possibility of an accidental fall from either Mangala Express or Netravati Express, both bound for Mumbai.
"Elena was travelling with just her handbag, without either her passport nor luggage. Had she fallen out of either Mangala Express or Netravati Express, she would have been found on the tracks by the driver of Hapa Express. But the main loco pilot of Hapa Express said that neither did they see anything nor report any runover," police sources revealed.
The driver told police, sources said, that in the past there had been several cases of people run over by a train, which had been reported to the nearest railway station, but this time they had not seen anything on the tracks. And while the three train drivers maintain that they did not run over any body, they did not rule out the possibility of a runover.
"They said that they may have run over something, but may have not realized or noticed, as they have to manage several things at once. Apart from looking for the signal they also have to maintain a speed of 110km/hr, ensure that the oil pressure and diesel pressure are good and also handle other aspects," police sources said. Each train has one main and one assistant loco pilot. All were grilled for hours by police officers.
"The drivers said that if anything is lying on the tracks it is visible only from 100m. Even if they apply brakes at that distance, the train doesn't immediately halt. It comes to a halt nearly 600m away from where the break is applied. So the possibility of stopping the train to avoid a runover is remote," said police sources.
They further revealed that the drivers told them that in case of a runover, they don't stop the train to check, but rather, they inform the nearest railway station and the railway control room. "They said that for every minute lost, they have to give an explanation," police sources said.
These statements, incidentally, are in contrast to the statement given by the Thivim railway station master, who had said that if a train's driver spots any obstruction on the tracks he stops the train, clears the tracks and then proceeds.
Police also said that the main loco pilot of Mangala Express said that he had not seen anything on the tracks as it was dark and though as per the train standard the train should have had a headlight with visibility up to 240m, the headlight's actual visibility, when it passed through the route on May 8, was only 140m.
Elena was carrying her mobile and police claim that she had even clicked a photograph of a goods wagon passing Thivim railway station a few hours before her death, thus establishing her presence at the railway station at about 3.25am. Police sources added, "This was the last time the mobile was used."
Meanwhile, another waiter, Vir Singh, from Himachal Pradesh, who was asked to quit his job in the hotel at Baga as he was friendly with the Russian girl has arrived in Goa along with his father. He had reportedly left Goa on May 6.
May 18,2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Rail men split over Elena's death
Rail men split over Elena's death
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: Konkan railway officials appear to be divided over the manner in which Elena Sukhonova, 19, could have died. The Russian teenager’s mutilated body was found on the railway tracks about 3.5 km north of Thivim station on May 8.
While KRC PRO Baban Ghatge, says that in his six years of service as PRO he has never seen anyone fall from the train onto the tracks, two ticket checkers told the police this was possible. Ghatge, was called by the cops after he disputed their theory that Elena could have fallen from the train and come under the wheels of the train.
“It is my opinion that if someone falls from the train, they will fall away from the tracks and not on the tracks. This statement is based on six years of experience with the KRC,” said Ghatge.
Two ticket collectors, however, dispute this. “We have recorded the statements of two ticket checkers who told us that there have been cases wherein passengers falling from trains have fallen on the tracks,” said a senior police official.
Backing his theory, Ghatge said, “We have come across several cases of people falling from running trains, but no one was dragged onto the tracks. I have also discussed the matter with the Railway Protection Force (RPF).” Ghatge admitted that he has not visited the spot where the Russian’s body was found.
The Konkan railway official reiterated that his statements to the media were not in his official capacity but his personal opinion. He said that KRC has no official comment to issue in the case. “Our only official statement is that the police are investigating the case and they should be allowed to carry out the investigations,” said Ghatge.
He also said that not a single foreigner purchased a ticket from Thivim station during the early hours of May 8. “We have also submitted a list of reserved passengers to the police and Elena’s name doesn’t figure in it,” he added.
Meanwhile, the sessions court rejected the anticipatory bail plea filed by Vishant Kundaikar, owner of the O’Pinhal Buckingham Shack on Calangute beach.
16 May 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: Konkan railway officials appear to be divided over the manner in which Elena Sukhonova, 19, could have died. The Russian teenager’s mutilated body was found on the railway tracks about 3.5 km north of Thivim station on May 8.
While KRC PRO Baban Ghatge, says that in his six years of service as PRO he has never seen anyone fall from the train onto the tracks, two ticket checkers told the police this was possible. Ghatge, was called by the cops after he disputed their theory that Elena could have fallen from the train and come under the wheels of the train.
“It is my opinion that if someone falls from the train, they will fall away from the tracks and not on the tracks. This statement is based on six years of experience with the KRC,” said Ghatge.
Two ticket collectors, however, dispute this. “We have recorded the statements of two ticket checkers who told us that there have been cases wherein passengers falling from trains have fallen on the tracks,” said a senior police official.
Backing his theory, Ghatge said, “We have come across several cases of people falling from running trains, but no one was dragged onto the tracks. I have also discussed the matter with the Railway Protection Force (RPF).” Ghatge admitted that he has not visited the spot where the Russian’s body was found.
The Konkan railway official reiterated that his statements to the media were not in his official capacity but his personal opinion. He said that KRC has no official comment to issue in the case. “Our only official statement is that the police are investigating the case and they should be allowed to carry out the investigations,” said Ghatge.
He also said that not a single foreigner purchased a ticket from Thivim station during the early hours of May 8. “We have also submitted a list of reserved passengers to the police and Elena’s name doesn’t figure in it,” he added.
Meanwhile, the sessions court rejected the anticipatory bail plea filed by Vishant Kundaikar, owner of the O’Pinhal Buckingham Shack on Calangute beach.
16 May 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Each doctor in Goa costs state Rs 77.44 lakhs
Each doctor in Goa costs state Rs 77.44 lakhs
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: The state spends approximately Rs 77.44 lakh on every student graduating from the Goa medical college and hospital, yet once armed with a medical degree few of them opt for government service.
Over 95% of doctors who obtain their degree through the GMC never work in the public sector. “Majority of the doctors don’t stay on in Goa. They either go abroad for higher studies or join other institutes or corporate hospitals as the salary is higher,” said head of department of pathology and medical education cell of GMC Dr R Wiseman Pinto.
There are currently 56 vacancies at the GMC (28 senior residents and 27 consultants), and 80 at the directorate of health services for doctors and other specialists. As many as nine DHS health centres are functioning without a medical officer.
Pinto conducted a survey, a first-of-its-kind study, to determine the cost of training at GMC. This was computed through the traditional method of total expenses as against the number of the students, he said. The Rs 77.44 lakh includes direct costs (faculty salaries and stipends) and indirect costs (non-teaching personnel salaries, equipment, books, civil works, machinery and scholarships) incurred by the state’s only teaching hospital.
“For any student, the entire expenditure at GMC has to be taken into account because all expenses are for the students’ benefit. There are at present about 547 students at the GMC,” said Dr Pinto.
As against the expenditure, general category students pay a fee of about Rs 1.14 lakh for the MBBS course, while reserved category students pay Rs 58,620 and all India students pay about Rs 1.15 lakh. This doesn’t include the hostel fee of Rs 1,000 per year.
There is, however, a solution to curb the brain drain, though the government is yet to implement it.
“Medical students joining the course sign a bond which has a clause that should the government require them to work in the public sector for a year, they would have to do so. In case they fail to work then they would have to pay a fine of Rs 2 lakh if they have a MBBS degree or Rs 3 lakh if they have a PG qualification,” said Pinto.
15 May 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: The state spends approximately Rs 77.44 lakh on every student graduating from the Goa medical college and hospital, yet once armed with a medical degree few of them opt for government service.
Over 95% of doctors who obtain their degree through the GMC never work in the public sector. “Majority of the doctors don’t stay on in Goa. They either go abroad for higher studies or join other institutes or corporate hospitals as the salary is higher,” said head of department of pathology and medical education cell of GMC Dr R Wiseman Pinto.
There are currently 56 vacancies at the GMC (28 senior residents and 27 consultants), and 80 at the directorate of health services for doctors and other specialists. As many as nine DHS health centres are functioning without a medical officer.
Pinto conducted a survey, a first-of-its-kind study, to determine the cost of training at GMC. This was computed through the traditional method of total expenses as against the number of the students, he said. The Rs 77.44 lakh includes direct costs (faculty salaries and stipends) and indirect costs (non-teaching personnel salaries, equipment, books, civil works, machinery and scholarships) incurred by the state’s only teaching hospital.
“For any student, the entire expenditure at GMC has to be taken into account because all expenses are for the students’ benefit. There are at present about 547 students at the GMC,” said Dr Pinto.
As against the expenditure, general category students pay a fee of about Rs 1.14 lakh for the MBBS course, while reserved category students pay Rs 58,620 and all India students pay about Rs 1.15 lakh. This doesn’t include the hostel fee of Rs 1,000 per year.
There is, however, a solution to curb the brain drain, though the government is yet to implement it.
“Medical students joining the course sign a bond which has a clause that should the government require them to work in the public sector for a year, they would have to do so. In case they fail to work then they would have to pay a fine of Rs 2 lakh if they have a MBBS degree or Rs 3 lakh if they have a PG qualification,” said Pinto.
15 May 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Cases of undetected crimes on rise in state
Cases of undetected crimes on rise in state
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: From the years 2004 to 2008 an average of around 34% to 38% crime cases go undetected in the state, reveals the statement of crime of
the Goa police for the last five years from 2004 to 2008.
However, an average of 62 to 65% crime cases have been detected and almost a similar or lesser number of cases chargesheeted. But compare this to national statistics, wherein the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) has stated that about 80.1% of cognizable crimes were chargesheeted.
Between 2004 and 2008, the state has seen an increase in incidents of theft and burglary. But the number of undetected cases outnumbers those detected. About 946 cases burglary and 1639 cases of theft in last five years still remain undetected. In contrast, the number of cases of burglary and theft detected in last five years is 426 and 950 respectively. The police, however, have been able to detect 61 robbery cases of the total 109 cases from 2004 to 2008. Of the 22 dacoities, 8 remain undetected. In cases of cheating, if the police have been able to crack 219 cases in the last 5 years, then 115 lie undetected.
Goa, in the last 5 years, witnessed 205 murders, of which 54 are still undetected. There have been 129 rapes of which 118 have been detected. About 94 cases of kidnapping were registered in the last 5 years. Of these, 19 is still undetected.
Even as counterfeiting notes as well as documents have become a major cause of worry in the state, the Goa police's effort to crackdown on those who indulge in such activities doesn't seem to have yielded results. This is dramatized by the fact that of the 49 counterfeiting cases, only 8 have been detected in the last five years. There has been 1082 fatal accidents in the state from 2004 to 2008, of which about 209 are still undetected.
15 May 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
Preetu Nair, TNN
PANAJI: From the years 2004 to 2008 an average of around 34% to 38% crime cases go undetected in the state, reveals the statement of crime of
the Goa police for the last five years from 2004 to 2008.
However, an average of 62 to 65% crime cases have been detected and almost a similar or lesser number of cases chargesheeted. But compare this to national statistics, wherein the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) has stated that about 80.1% of cognizable crimes were chargesheeted.
Between 2004 and 2008, the state has seen an increase in incidents of theft and burglary. But the number of undetected cases outnumbers those detected. About 946 cases burglary and 1639 cases of theft in last five years still remain undetected. In contrast, the number of cases of burglary and theft detected in last five years is 426 and 950 respectively. The police, however, have been able to detect 61 robbery cases of the total 109 cases from 2004 to 2008. Of the 22 dacoities, 8 remain undetected. In cases of cheating, if the police have been able to crack 219 cases in the last 5 years, then 115 lie undetected.
Goa, in the last 5 years, witnessed 205 murders, of which 54 are still undetected. There have been 129 rapes of which 118 have been detected. About 94 cases of kidnapping were registered in the last 5 years. Of these, 19 is still undetected.
Even as counterfeiting notes as well as documents have become a major cause of worry in the state, the Goa police's effort to crackdown on those who indulge in such activities doesn't seem to have yielded results. This is dramatized by the fact that of the 49 counterfeiting cases, only 8 have been detected in the last five years. There has been 1082 fatal accidents in the state from 2004 to 2008, of which about 209 are still undetected.
15 May 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition
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