Cops acted swiftly, but concerns of security remain

| JUNE 13, 2021, 11:32 PM IST

The horrendous baby kidnap saga may have ended after the well-orchestrated police action, but the incident has exposed many grey areas at the GMC premises. The Goa police need to be commended for tracking down the accused and the kidnapped baby within 24 hours, and the State government must revisit the issue of security around the campus of hospitals in the State.

It is obvious that the abductor lady is not a stray visitor to the GMC and has probably planned her act. Let’s not forget that there is a sizeable workforce hailing from Saleli-Sattari at GMC giving her the advantage of being familiar with the complex and also accessibility. If we may recall, a few months back, touts were engaged in brisk business from the hospital premises providing care-takers for a hefty price. It was happening in broad daylight and in the absence of any checks and balances such illegalities thrived.

In the Sattari case, police could luckily pick up traces from the footage available, thanks to the clues left behind at multiple stops. It could have been much worse, or probably beyond the reach of anyone if there was a syndicate involved on the lines of those in some of India’s metros. There is a vast portion of the area inside and around the complex which does not have CCTV coverage and has not been monitored by security personnel.

GMC is the State premier hospital and it witnesses the movement of patients, visitors, helpers, staff, doctors etc and hence they are vulnerable to various forms of threats at some point. An unidentified lady walking in and out with someone else’s baby exposes security flaws that need to be plugged immediately, not only at GMC but also across district hospitals.

While the baby was being traced, citizens across the state were traumatized by two brutal murders and life-threatening assaults. A Karnataka man allegedly killed his sister by smashing her head with a cricket bat at Nagao-Bardez and a brawl between carpenters near Majorda leaving one of them dead. A Navelim youth was assaulted by two with koita and iron rod leading to head injuries and fractures. On Sunday, news surfaced of a Verla-based businessman who was savagely assaulted for exposing a hill cutting incident and he suffered serious head, nose and eye injuries.

The police force, which has been stretched beyond limits doing Covid duties have undoubtedly acted swiftly and nabbed those behind these crimes. However, the barbaric attacks on Goans have scarred the minds of citizens and raised serious concerns over individual safety.  Police have made a justifiably strong attempt to bring the culprits to books, but that’s not a deterrent against goondaism.

No matter the political cross-fire and the discourse, goondaism will continue to raise its ugly head as long as there is vote-bank politics. Leaders continue extending political patronage to goondas and anti-social elements and that’s how the system has been working. In this vicious circle, those raising voices of dissent have always been targeted, and this will continue to be a concern no matter how quickly the police nab the guilty.


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