By Nisser Dias.
1st Sept 2011
The police department has to hang its head in shame for bringing disrepute to Goa and Goans once again by molesting and sexually exploiting a 22 year old vulnerable girl at the Mapusa police station. More than that Ravi Naik has to resign from the government as the Home Minister owing moral responsibility as he has utterly failed to bring about discipline among his policemen or rather thugs and criminals who have infiltrated the Goa police force in recent times. Today it seems that the Home minister and the criminals in uniform have tacit understanding of ‘you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours’.
Since Ravi Naik’s tenure as the Home minister the disciplinary force has been sunk to the lowest ebb in self control and discipline. Police officers and constables are involved in all sorts of illegalities from drugs to counterfeit currency to improper investigation in heinous crime to molestations of women. What moral right does the Ravi Naik has to continue as Home Minister. Of course I do not even expect our spineless chief minister Digambar Kamat to demand his resignation from the cabinet nor even strip him of the Home portfolio.
With the incident of a young girl being subjected to sexual torture at the police station, I can say without hesitation that police stations in Goa have become unsafe for women. Not that they were any safe for any women to step into at night and that was the reason for directives to be issued that no woman could be arrested from sunset to sunrise. But the men in uniform have got around it by not showing the arrest during this particular period.
To site some examples PSI Hiru Kavlekar was hauled up for harassing a lady over the phone asking her to be present at the Cuncolim police station late at night. Another police officer Gajanan Prabhudessai while officiating as a police inspector of Maina-Curtorim police station had slapped a lady in my presence and it was reported in Gomantak Times but as of today he has been promoted as DySP. Another police sub inspector under the guise of investigating a prostitution racket escorted two young girls to Mumbai and instead of keeping them in custody of their counterparts there, booked into a hotel with obvious intention. Can we forget Miramar sex scandal where one police inspector who is presently a DySP was allegedly involved. These same criminals in uniform have not only thrived but continue to be on the police force even after commission of grave crimes.
Coming to the present case of the victim who was subjected to sexual torture by constable Vishwavijay Digambar Parab in the presence of other colleagues at the Mapusa police station. She should have not only been protected but commended for having the courage to escape from the clutches of promoters of sex trade, but no, this filthy man in uniform subjected her to further trauma by initially molesting her in the patrol vehicle in presence of a lady constable and another colleague and then bringing her to the Mapusa police station only to condemn her to oral sex. The question before the police department today is why did the other staff present at the Mapusa police station at the time of the incident turn a blind eye to this horrendous act. To which politician does constable Vishwavijay Digambar Parab owe allegiance that forced others to keep mum while the act was on?
Why is police inspector Uttam Raut Dessai’s role to hush up the matter is not being questioned. Though he is the PI of Pernem police station, he is also holding charge of Mapusa police station from the where the victim was picked up subjected to torture, molestation and oral sex and then transported to Pernem. In Pernem PI Dessai conducted a mock raid to show that the victim was arrested there while soliciting customers. The incident occurred on 11th August and came to light 15 days later. Was PI Uttam Raut Dessai unaware of this incident, if so he is not fit to be a police officer. This was a cover up act to save constable Parab. PI Dessai is equally responsible for encouraging such horrendous acts at the police and hence has to be suspended and questioned. An FIR should also be registered against all the police personnel present at the time of the incident.
Further cover-up is on. SDPO of Mapusa Sammy Tavares has been made in-charge of the enquiry into the matter. He is sure to be influenced by PI Uttam Raut Dessai as both are batchmates. I am sure that Sammy will manage to keep his batchmate out of trouble. Of course it would be more fodder for Sammy Tavares to produce another music CD.
In my opinion suspension and arrests of police indulging in such horrendous acts have not conveyed a strong message. Otherwise how would one explain repetition of the 2009 act again in 2011. In 2009 constables Santosh Naik during patrolling restrained an alleged sex worker and asked her to perform oral sex on him in a police patrol jeep which was filmed by another constable and circulated. Santosh stands suspended for more than two years but still avails part salary. The enquiry into the matter was handed over to DySP Nilu Raut Dessai to be conducted within a month. But after more than two years have elapsed it is yet to be completed. Should Nilu Raut Dessai not be hauled up for dereliction of duty?
Ironically DySP Nilu Raut Dessai also has a chequered past. He has been allegedly involved in drunken brawls at Colva beach. More than that he had attended a 96 hours nonstop dance party at a starred hotel in Varca way back in 2004. Nilu Raut Dessai then police inspector attended it in a drunken state and misbehaved with the female participants and then with foreign guests forcing them to leave the venue. He was so drunk that he slept in the hotel lobby and Colva police were called who bodily lifted him and dumped him in the police jeep. This was filmed by me and shown on GOA 365. Of course it still remains in the archives of news channel GOA 365.
When we have such police officers entrenched in the police department how can police stations be safe for our women or for that matter any citizen of this land? DGP Aditya Arya has his plate full and he needs to do a lot of cleaning up in his department if he wants to restore the faith of public in his force.
Send your comments/reactions to nisserdias@gmail.com Or SMS 9422437029)
(Nisser Dias writes a regular column in GT every Thursday).
For Goa News Log on to WWW.nizgoenkar.net
