the goan I network
MARGAO
When the men in khaki took off their regular uniforms to don the uniforms of Konkan railway employees to lay their hands on the third accused in the gang-rape case and the most dreaded amongst the trio, Ishwar Marcwana was still at large.
Cops were on the look out for Ishwar when the remaining two accused had already landed in the Goa police dragnet on Friday evening. Sources said it was Saturday morning, when Ishwar called one of the accused, seeking to know his location, without realizing that his accomplice wa already in the police net.
When the arrested accused replied saying he was at the Karmali railway station, Ishwar told him to board a train and come to the Margao railway station.
PI Navlesh Desai, who was officiating as Colva police station that time, said the police took a quick decision that a police team in railway uniforms will accompany the accused to Margao by train, to ensure Ishwar does not get any wind of the fact that his two accomplices are already in police custody.
“We weighed various options to nab Ishwar, the third and the dreaded accused in the case. As Ishwar insisted that the arrested accused meet him at Margao railway station, a quick decision was taken that a couple of police personnel would don the railway uniforms and alight at the railway station with the accused”, PI Navlesh recalled.
The police personnel executed the plan as per the script with the policemen in railway uniforms walking behind and in front of the accused, with clear instructions to the accused to keep Ishwar busy over the phone. When the team alighted at the Margao railway station, Ishwar called up the accused and asked him to keep walking along the tracks towards the Margao flyover side. In the meantime, a strong posse of police in plainclothes was posted along the tracks and near the railway foot bridge near Tandoor, to keep a track on anyone continuously busy on the mobile.
In the meantime, PI Navlesh informed that the police made a request to the railway officials to ensure that no train runs on the tracks between Margao and Verna for some time to ensure the plan did not go awry. “Our investigations later revealed that accused Ishwar was on the Margao flyover when the police team and the accused were walking on the tracks. Our suspicions grew that he was around the footbridge-Tandoor area when he told the accused over the phone to return when they had already reached at the Temple near the Comba railway crossing’, PI Navlesh said.
At this point, instructions were issued to the men in plainclothes to nab anyone near the footbridge and accused Ishwar, who was coming down near the footbridge towards Tandoor side landed in the police dragnet.
Says district police chief, SP Arvind Gawas: “We got the three accused because of the team effort. Mobile range only gives location of the user within a certain radius. But, then the police has to zero in on the suspects amongst the hundreds, if not thousands of people around. It was not an easy task. In the instant case, our policemen donned the uniform of railway employees and managed to nab the accused Ishwar after engaging him continuously over the phone”.
