Remember a man called Cipriano Fernandes? Most of Goa maynot. The newspapers barely do. Eight policemen in the Panjim police stationsurely do. Charged with murdering the man in their custody, they remainsuspended from their jobs but free of confinement or questioning.
The government, then and now, has let the case just fall offand die and the police is simply protecting its own men. It’s a measure of somepressure by some human rights activists and some journalists, mainly those inThe Goan, that they continue to remain suspended, though the police inspectorof the Panjim police station, when Cipriano was killed, runs a security anddetective agency with his wife as a front. Income is never a problem with Goa’spolicemen. Accountability is.
While Cipriano was buried on Wednesday last, no action hasbeen taken on the FIR against policemen on duty during his arrest. It’s alsoshocking that the police force, which is crippled with many of its forcesuspended or facing inquiries, do nothing when so many of its men are out ofservice because of criminal activities. And cops charged with murder arealleged criminals.
It is this line between policemen and criminals that hasbeen bridged not just in this case but every day when policemen extort, extractmoney, plant drugs or threaten witnesses. This is played out on Goa’s beachesevery single day when cops turn criminals. There were repeated instances whenvictims have got out of their clutches because they knew someone who could makethat one vital phone call.
Coming back to Cipriano Fernandes, The Goan pledges that itwill not give up and keep fighting to put the policemen who tortured him todeath, for no apparent fault, to book. With so many agencies finding ground toprosecute them, it’s a tragic irony that the state protects them.
It’s a long cry but every measure of growth and progress ofGoa is linked to the safety and security of its common citizen. Instead, wehave a Goa where we need to be protected from our own police.
