In the electoral din and amidst the fierce arguments of development and protecting the Constitution, the focus on law and order, especially murders and bodies being recovered in the past few months, has been completely lost. Surprisingly, news of deaths, murders and some bodies recovered under mysterious circumstances has been muted in the political chorus.
Take for example the two brothers who were found dead in an Aquem flat. The post-mortem report states that the deaths were caused due to starvation, however, it is alarming that in current times we hear of starvation deaths, especially in upmarket places like Margao. In another case, a 53-year-old from Ponsulem-Canacona was found dead with gunshot wounds outside a bar and restaurant in the locality. The case comes as a shocker because of the easy use of firearms even in remote areas of Goa where people are struggling for the basics of life. On the same day, anunidentified body of a woman was found under a bus at the Ponda bus stand.
Earlier this month, a highly decomposed body of a 78-year-old woman from Nanem-Gaondongrim was found at the Gaunem Dam in Gaondongrim. In another case, a five-year-old girl was raped and murdered in Vasco. A decomposed body of a youth from Keri-Sattari was found hanging from a tree at Virdi-Sankhali around a fortnight back. Last month, a male human skeleton was found in a field at Sarvewada-Guirim, a person who has been missing since March 5. Also, a decomposed body was found in the fields at Sarvey Vado, Guirim while another was found at Pedda-Benaulim.
A series of bodies have been retrieved across the State, some in a decomposed state, and this does not speak well of a State that is known for being a peace abode. While police may have acted swiftly in some of these cases, the frequency and nature of crimes raise a concern that the State is slowly but steadily drifting towards a scary crime zone.
There is concern because the scars of the past have not healed. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) held that Goa’s rate of rape on minors stood at 7.1 (per lakh population) in 2022, the highest in the country. There is concern because NCRB data of 2022 put Goa’s crime rate against senior citizens at 21.4 per cent, and we continue to see murders of seniors. There is a ban on carrying firearms because of the code of conduct, but there is a death by gunshot at Canacona. And, a state that with a per capita income of more than three times the national average is reporting starvation deaths.
The assortment of crime and the rising graph may not align with the environment of the State, or may not reflect the efficiency of those in uniform. But, it does trigger a bell that enforcement is falling short. It raises a scare of insecurity and ill-feeling because the State has been hearing of horrific deaths or murders unheard of in recent times. Decomposed bodies, mutilated bodies and even skeletons being found point to an increasing contract-killing culture setting in. Even as we write this piece, news pours in that an uncle has allegedly murdered his nephew in Ponda.
Society stands scared and helpless because these horrors which are unfolding one after another are being swept under the carpet with the common man remaining clueless. The argument that the majority of the crimes are committed by migrants cannot be an excuse, because crime in Goa does not see boundaries and geographies. It’s about a life lost.
It’s time Chief Minister Pramod Sawant takes stock of enforcement, explains the ratio of police to people in the State and puts an elaborate plan of action to the bring down the rate of crime.
