MARGAO
Citizens from cross section of society have on Thursday said that public trust in police has eroded over the years as they expressed their concern over organised criminal activities that have been threatening the social fabric.
The Citizens for Democracy organised their Gandhi Jayanti dialogue this year with people from various walks of life on the theme ‘Bapu Goem Gundanchea hatant podllem? Kaxem?’ The panel consisted of former police officers Bosco George, John Shilshi, Adv Pritam Moraes, ST activist Devidas Gaonkar and CFD convenor Elvis Gomes.
The discussion focused on rising organised crime in the State, which poses a threat to public security, highlighted by recent violent incidents and the attack on Rama Kankonkar, a member of the ST community.
Moderated by human rights activist Cyril Fernandes the dialogue threw up interesting questions about the declining standards of policing in Goa. The common refrain was that police were increasingly controlled by politicians who had nexus with criminals thus denying justice to the common men.
Policing then and now drew striking observations, with the two former top cops agreeing that earning public confidence in the system is difficult unless systemic change is driven by conscientious officers from within. The role of judiciary in controlling crime also came in for flak with advocate Pritam Moraes citing a case delay of 44 years in convicting a suspect.
Another participant Devidas Gaonkar said that the ST community was neglected by successive regimes.
Summing up the discussion, convenor of Citizens for Democracy, Elvis Gomes cited specific examples of organised criminal activities that were threatening the social fabric.
