They are often filled with concern for their village as attempts were made to acquire a large chunk of land for the IIT project. These residents of Shel-Melauli are now making Court appearances to attend the trial for charges pressed against them by the Goa government.
The IIT project has faced opposition from various quarters across Goa. In fact, any site proposed by the government has till date met with stiff opposition from the respective villagers.
Although the government relocated the highly controversial project from Shel-Melauli to an unidentified location in South Goa following prolonged protests, the lives of these locals haven’t returned to normalcy yet.
Twenty-two villagers are attending court proceedings before the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC), on charges of wrongful restraint under Section 341 of the Indian Penal Code read with Section 149 IPC, as they were also a part of an unlawful assembly.
While there is no justification for the offense committed, as it involved a near-violent attack on government officials performing their duties, assurances were given to consider the issue empathetically.
Local MLA Vishwajit Rane also stepped in, assuring the villagers that he would propose to the government to drop the charges against them. It was also presented during a cabinet meeting and reportedly, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant hinted at the same. Around two years down the line, there is a stoic silence on this assurance. The villagers, now termed as accused, are still appearing for trial against them.
After their initial appearance before the JMFC this January, the villagers last attended the trial in June with their next hearing scheduled on July 31.
“We were merely safeguarding our land but misunderstood by the government. We were compelled to halt the inspection because the government failed to heed our previous peaceful demands. Our lives now revolve around household chores and court appearances. It is mentally distressing,” said one of the villagers, requesting anonymity due to probable repercussions from the government and court.
Another villager stated that had the government addressed their grievances earlier, such a situation would not arise. “The government finally denotified the land for the project. If we had not resorted to protesting, our village would have been destroyed by way of these concrete constructions. But while we won one battle, the other battle is the criminal case against us. We expect the government to withdraw the FIR against us,” the local added.
The villagers are demanding the withdrawal of charges against them, as their protest primarily aimed to protect their village, rather than serving personal interests.
Their lawyer, Advocate Ganpat Gaonkar informed that the villagers are regularly attending the trial and there is no development into the government’s assurance for withdrawal of cases against them.
That’s not the end. Another FIR under section 307 (attempt to murder) IPC against several activists including Congress workers and Sankalp Amonkar – who defected from the Congress to join BJP last year – registered in January 2021 is pending investigation. The FIR was transferred from Valpoi to the Crime Branch and resulted in the arrest of two activists.
