PANAJI
For more than a decade, a familiar administrative pattern has played out in Goa: IAS and IPS officers involved in public controversies or institutional failures are moved out without accountability being fixed.
In contrast, in several such instances, the Central government has stepped in more decisively, curtailing deputations or ordering transfers.
The transfer of IPS officer Akshat Kaushal has once again brought this approach into focus. Kaushal has been moved to Arunachal Pradesh months after a State-appointed fact-finding committee held him and several other senior officials responsible for lapses that led to the Shirgao Zatra stampede in May 2025 -- an incident the panel described as “entirely preventable.”
The same inquiry also flagged the role of IAS officer Sneha Gitte, then North Goa Collector, who was shifted to the Arunachal Pradesh cadre.
Her transfer was effected with unusual speed, unlike Kaushal, who was first posted to the State Police Control Room.
While the government announced financial assistance for the families of those killed and injured, it has not disclosed any disciplinary action arising from the report. There have been no FIRs, no suspensions.
In July 2025, another senior bureaucrat, Puneet Kumar Goel, saw his central deputation curtailed by the MHA amid pending public interest litigation over alleged illegal land conversions during his tenure as Goa’s Chief Secretary. He was shifted to the Manipur cadre, even as the matter continues before the High Court.
The pattern was evident a year earlier. In July 2024, then Director General of Police Jaspal Singh was transferred to Delhi days before the monsoon session of the Goa Legislative Assembly. The move followed controversy over the partial demolition of a house in Assagao and allegations by Police Inspector Prashal Desai, who accused Singh of pressurising him to dilute the case against absconding accused Pooja Sharma.
Desai, who was later suspended, alleged he was directed not to halt the demolition and threatened with a false NDPS case. Singh was later transferred and Desai reinstated. In a development that raised eyebrows, the Crime Branch, which had earlier described Sharma as the kingpin, later dropped her name from the chargesheet.
Around the same period, the MHA revoked the suspension of ex-Goa DIG A Koan, who had been suspended in August 2023 for allegedly misbehaving with a woman at a Baga nightclub. Koan was transferred to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, with the ministry stating that the disciplinary inquiry would continue. No public update has followed.
Earlier cases point to a similar trail. In 2019, the Anti-Corruption Branch closed a preliminary inquiry against former IGP Sunil Garg in an alleged bribery case, citing lack of evidence. Garg was transferred to Arunachal Pradesh in 2016 after the controversy surfaced. Demands to hand the probe to the CBI did not move forward.
In 2013, allegations against then IGP Sanjay Singh, relating to misuse of an official vehicle and frequenting late-night parties, led to his removal from Goa. A vigilance inquiry was ordered, but its findings have never been made public.
In another instance, a former Inspector General of Police accused of coercing subordinates to raise money 'by hook or crook' after being caught in a honey-trap episode was transferred out of the State without any disciplinary proceedings.
If the transfers involved these officers, Goa’s IAS officer Nikhil Desai -- posted back to Goa in the latest reshuffle -- has been cleared of allegations linking him to a jobs scam by accused Pooja Naik. The Crime Branch found no evidence against him, as well as a minister and another senior bureaucrat.
