the goan I network
VASCO
A miscreant is alleged to have set ablaze fishing nets of a trawler owner at Kharewado on Thursday night, causing a loss of about Rs 8 lakh.
Quick action by labourers in the area prevented the fire from spreading to the huge heaps of nets worth crores of rupees belonging to most trawlers owners stored in an open space at Kharewado.
According to the trawler owner Israr Ahmed, anti-social elements use the place behind the nets in the dark to consume alcohol and drugs.
In one such incident, Ahmed saw a man drinking next to his nets and drove him away, warning him not to drink again near his nets. The man, however, threatened Ahmed with dire consequences before leaving the site.
Later in the evening, the same man is believed to have returned in the dark and set ablaze Ahmed’s fishing nets.
The labourers working on trawlers in the area noticed the man, but he escaped before they could catch him. The room belonging to Ahmed next to the nets had petrol barrels and boat motors.
The labourers rushed to the site and extinguished the fire, before it could spread to other nets and the room housing the petrol barrels and boat motors.
Vasco police later went to the site to conduct investigations and a case was registered at Vasco police station late on Thursday night.
“These guys drink here and because I drove him away, he has burnt my nets.
The nets are damaged and a loss of Rs 8 lakh is what I have to face for driving drunkards from here.”
“This entire fishing season of mine is gone with no nets. I want the accused somehow so that I can teach him a good lesson. I have told Vasco police to nab him immediately and given them his overall description,” said Ahmed.
Meanwhile, former minister Jose Philip Dsouza, who had gone to the site to verify if his nets had also caught fire, said Vasco police must begin a drive to nab unknown people loitering near the nets at Kharewado.
“There are many people who roam here and there are nets worth crores of rupees here. I request Vasco police to begin a drive to start picking up people who come to this area and use this place in the dark to indulge in antisocial activities,” said D’Souza.
