CANACONA
Anger prevailed in Canacona on Friday after three Pakistan flags were found painted on the roads in different parts of the municipality.
Some people while on their morning walk first noticed one Pakistan flag painted on the road in front of Krishna Café near the main junction of Chaudi town. The second Pakistan flag was later spotted on the main road proceeding to the KTC bus stand.
A short while later, a third flag was found painted on the road to Bhagatwada, near another prominent location in Char-Rasta.
PUBLIC ANGER
News of roads painted with Pakistan flags spread like wildfire, sparking tension and anger in the municipality, with people demanding strict action against the culprits involved in anti-national activities.
Some angry locals dumped cow dung on one painted Pakistani flag on the road.
Siddharth Desai, personal assistant to Speaker and Canacona MLA Ramesh Tawadkar, while on a morning walk early Friday morning, was one of the first to spot the Pakistan flag on the road.
“The flags were painted in oil paint and at the prominent locations to deliberately create communal tension in the otherwise peaceful Canacona taluka,” said Desai.
When he was informed that a similar flag was also painted at the entrance of the KTC bus stand, Desai alerted Tawadkar and also reported the matter to Canacona Police Inspector Harischandra Raut Desai.
Tawadkar then sought a detailed report from the police and instructed them to trace the culprits who were trying to create tension and disharmony among the people of Canacona.
Prominent people cutting across communities denounced the painting of the Pakistan flags and appealed to people to maintain peace and harmony.
As tension began to rise in Canacona, Canacona police sought to defuse the situation by erasing the oil-painted Pakistan flags from the roads later in the morning.
Some residents wondered how these flags were painted on the roads in public places which were fully illuminated, especially when four police patrolling vehicles were surveying the areas at night.
POLICE COMPLAINT
Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar along with a group of citizens later called on Canaocna PI Harischandra Raut Desai and filed a complaint against unknown persons for painting Pakistan flags on the Canacona roads.
In his complaint, Tawadkar called for action against the culprits for indulging in anti-national activities and seeking to cause communal tension in the taluka.
Canacona police have reportedly collected CCTV footages from various places and have expressed hope that the suspects would be arrested soon.
