VALPOI
Tension ran high in Honda on Wednesday as an irate mob staged a protest at the Honda police outpost and accused Valpoi PI Sagar Ekoskar of having assaulted two locals in the police outpost after they had been picked up for stopping trucks carrying ore in the village.
The angry protesters have demanded the suspension of PI Ekoskar and were stationed outside the police outpost till late Wednesday night.
According to reports, the incident began when some locals noticed trucks carrying ore without tarpaulin along the Honda-Navelim road and stopped the trucks.
A police team led by Valpoi PI Sagar Ekoskar rushed to the site and took two locals, former Honda sarpanch and sitting panch Suresh Madkar and Sagar Naik, to the Honda police outpost for interrogation.
News then spread that the police had allegedly assaulted Madkar and Naik, sparking off outrage in the village. The police then took both Madkar and Naik to the Valpoi police station.
A large number of people soon rushed to the Honda police outpost and threatened that they would not leave the site unless authorities suspend PI Ekoskar and immediately release Madkar and Naik.
The crowd also blocked the road in front of the Honda police outpost, disrupting traffic between Valpoi and Honda.
As tension mounted, Sattari Mamlatdar Dashrath Gawas went to the Honda police outpost at about 3 pm and held talks with the agitating locals. They were, however, in no mood to listen to him.
In the meanwhile, PI Ekoskar and a police team returned along with Madkar and Naik to the Honda police outpost.
In a bid to defuse the tension, PI Ekoskar then tendered an apology, but the irate locals refused to accept his apology and demanded his suspension.
North Goa SP Utkrisht Prasoon then went to the Honda police outpost at about 4 pm and interacted with Madkar and Naik, but they also insisted on the suspension of PI Ekoskar, after alleging that he had assaulted them in the Honda police outpost.
The crowd were still at the Honda police outpost till Wednesday night and refused to leave the site.
Both Madkar and Naik have filed separate police complaints in front of Bicholim DySP Gurudas Gawade, accusing PI Ekoskar of having assaulted them in the Honda police outpost.
Meanwhile, all shops in the Honda market area were shut on Wednesday in support of the protest against the alleged assault on Madkar and Naik.
