The driver’s side window of an Innova was shattered after unidentified bike-borne assailants opened fire at the vehicle in Karanzal-Mardol late Thursday night. Captured by : Narayan Pissurlenkar
PANAJI
A sense of unease has enveloped Marcaim following the firing incident late on Thursday night in which Saurabh Lotlikar, a youth leader from the area of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was apparently targeted.
Lotlikar fortunately escaped unhurt in the incident in which bike-borne assailants fired at him while he was driving an Innova car, shattering the driver’s seat window.
Lotlikar rushed to the Mardol police station and recorded his complaint, sending top policemen from the entire Ponda sub-division into a tizzy to investigate the episode.
Mardol police station in-charge Yogesh Sawant, along with Ponda police station in-charge Vijaynath Kavlekar, rushed to the crime scene to initiate investigation and assess the site for evidence. Superintendent of Police, Tikam Singh, IPS, and Ponda DySP Shriram Vaigankar also joined the investigation and remained at the Mardol police station until dawn
on Friday.
The dog squad was also summoned from Panaji and arrived at the crime scene around 2 am on Friday, but beyond stating that they were working on some clues they had managed to gather, police officials declined to throw any light on the progress of the investigation.
Police also did not say whether they had zeroed in on any suspects during the investigation, but Vaigankar said they had recovered the used bullet and that the results of forensic tests would help the case.
Lotlikar was driving a friend’s Innova car (GA 09 D 9797) when he was fired upon along the road leading to Undir and Gaunem in Karanjal, Marcaim. The driver’s side window was shattered, but fortunately Lotlikar suffered no injury in the attack. The attackers fled the scene after firing at the car.
The shooting incident has triggered widespread concern as it followed soon after the alleged ‘gang war’ incidents in Margao and Vasco earlier this week.
