While the focus on Wednesday was on Nirmala Sitharaman's fifth budget that had salaried class doing the number crunching, the news of a thief decamping with cash and gold from one of the rooms of a Panaji court came as a jolt from the blue.
A man appearing as an advocate with a shoulder bag enters the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) court building in Altinho-Panaji on Tuesday evening, manages to camp inside the premises, goes about ransacking the evidence room and exits the premises with the booty unnoticed, at around 9.15 pm.
Fortunately, the man's entry and exit were tracked with the help of the CCTV footage, and police, after a herculean effort, managed to arrest the culprit on Thursday night.
The incident comes as a shock because nobody expected thieves to strike the court premises, a temple of justice where criminals, history-sheeters, thieves and even innocent citizens plead their cases and seek justice. While the incident reflects the fragile state of our security systems, it establishes that criminals don't see security as a deterrent. Take note that three Goa Human Resource Development Corporation personnel were manning the court premises that evening. Yet, the security team failed as the thief walked out in the early hours of the night, totally unnoticed.
Goa, over the years, has heard about residences being robbed, ATMs being broken into, or even stolen. There have been cases of banks being robbed and even temples and churches. However, a court heist has taken this to a whole new level.
The theft exposes a critical vulnerability of our security system. There is all the more reason to worry because courts store crucial data of cases, including files and documents. Leave alone taking the cash and gold; any destruction of case papers could have disastrous consequences affecting the course of trials. Courts across the State store documents and sensitive case files. Imagine thieves gaining entry into the premises and decamping or destroying specific files. We hear of "contract killing"; this would sound like a "contract" to destroy files and evidence.
The Panaji court heist should be a wake-up call for the government to heighten security across all courts in the State. There is a need for armed police personnel stationed at every court premises along with an intrusion alert mechanism. The low-resolution video capture made it difficult for the investigating team to identify the person in the frame.
Goa has proved to be a happy hunting ground for thieves who break into residences and establishments even in broad daylight. Last month, police officials raised concern over rising ATM thefts and met representatives of 24 bank officials. Suggestions were to scan CCTV footage regularly to identify suspicious persons or activities and increase security. On Wednesday, gold ornaments worth Rs 1.5 lakh and cash of Rs 45,000 were stolen from a resort in Ashvem-Mandrem.
It's time the government takes security very seriously.
