MARGAO
Blame it on sheer callousness or otherwise, a body of a dead coolie was lying unattended in Margao’s Gandhi Market for well around nine hours on Monday, with neither the Margao police nor the 108 ambulance lifting it and transporting it to the hospital.
It was only at around 6 pm on Monday that a police team in PPE gear headed to the Gandhi Market to lift the body to the hospital, apparently after the intervention of Superintendent of Police, Pankaj Kumar Singh.
Leader of Gandhi Market Vendors Association, Rajendra Ajgaonkar, who is the brother of Deputy Chief Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar, told the media that the coolie’s body was found in the market at around 9 am. He informed that though the police were informed, the body was found lying at the spot till Monday evening.
When The Goan called up the Margao police, sources informed that no sooner they had received information, the 108 ambulance was contacted at 11 am.
“When the police called up the ambulance at 11 am, it did not come. Calls were again made at 11.30 am, 12 noon and 1 pm, but every time those manning the ambulance claimed they were preoccupied,” a police official said.
In the meantime, the body of the coolie continued to lie in the market, with neither the 108 coming to the spot with ambulance or the Margao police with a hearse van.
After Rajendra Ajgaonkar called up the media at around 5 pm, the matter was taken up with the district police chief, SP Pankaj Kumar Sing, who is believed to have issued instructions to the Margao police to act immediately.
As the blame game between the authorities continued, market vendors have demanded a probe by the District Collector South to ascertain what the Margao police is claiming is true and to find out the reason why the 108 ambulance did not respond to calls.
“The truth should come out, who’s responsible for leaving the dead body of the coolie unattended for hours together. Let the Collector initiate an inquiry and fix responsibility,” demanded a market trader.
