MARGAO
The Colva police came under a scanner after reports did the rounds that a couple of makeshift grave diggers, engaged by the Holy Trinity Church in Benaulim had to face the brunt of police lathis on Sunday.
While the incident took the social media by storm, with people demanding action against the police officer in question, Colva police station in-charge, PI Anand Shirodkar, firmly denied that the grave diggers were assaulted with lathis by the Colva police.
The incident is believed to have taken place on Sunday noon when Parish Priest Fr Rocklyn D’Costa engaged four make shift grave diggers for four graves as the regular grave digger has proceeded on leave. The four graves were apparently dug for two deaths, including a Covid victim that was reported on Sunday and to keep the graves ready to meet any emergency situation.
After digging the graves, the four labourers, believed to be hailing from Paroda village, were scheduled to come to the Church for collecting their labour fees. Two of the four labourers arrived first on their motorcycle and were waiting near the Church junction, apparently waiting for their other two colleagues.
Around the same time, a police jeep which was patrolling the area arrived at the spot where the two were waiting. The policemen on duty alighted from the jeep and chased the two grave diggers away with their lathis.
Colva PI Anand Shirodkar, however, firmly rejected the reports that the grave diggers were lathi-charged by the police officer. “There was no lathi charge. The police officer must have dispersed them as they were standing near the junction”, he said, while terming the allegation of assault by the police officer on the grave diggers as baseless.
