MARGAO
Following the brutal assault on a Margao resident at the Margao railway station, Congress on Monday questioned the silence of Margao MLA Digamber Kamat over the alleged extortion going on at the railway station in the guise of parking fees collection.
Congress leader Savio Coutinho who has been spearheading the struggle against the unjustified parking fees collection rushed to the Konkan Railway station on being informed about the assault of one Shaffi Mulla, a resident of Azad Nagar, by the staff of the parking fees collection Contractor.
Coutinho voiced out his concerns over the strong arm techniques adopted by the parking Contractor to extort money from the motorists visiting the railway station.
“It was a peculiar situation at the railway station that was witnessed after the assault. There are two police outposts, the Railway Police Force(RPF), and the Konkan Railway Police Station, and each of these stations claimed that the incident doesn't come under the purview of their respective stations, bringing out the moot question about the very purpose of these outposts, he said.
The RPF eventually called upon the Margao town police to take over the matter.
“It was shocking to see how the RPF was concerned about the property of the parking contractor which was damaged by the irate crowd that gathered after the assault; however there was no concern shown towards the injured boy," Coutinho lamented.
Coutinho further pointed out that as per the conditions of the contract, subletting of parking fees collection is prohibited. “The condition states that if the contractor sublets the same, then the contract will be terminated. However, after the Congress party exposed with proof that a different agency was collecting the parking fees, no action has been taken, he said. We demand an explanation from the Dy Director of KRC Baban Ghatge over the action taken by the KRC after the receipt books and scan code was seized and taken into possession by them on November 21 during the protest”, he added.
