PANAJI
In what appears to be a routine reshuffle dressed up as reform, the transfer order of 565 police personnel from constables to police inspectors on Friday has once again sparked sharp criticism and internal murmurs.
A deeper look reveals that several of the transfers are mere token gestures, with officers/ personnel being moved within the same buildings, subdivisions or units.
Of around 40 and possibly more, Police Sub-Inspector Viraj Dhauskar has been transferred from the Traffic Cell at Bicholim to the Bicholim Police Station -- barely a km apart. PSI Vijay Nair’s transfer from GRP A Coy to the Security Unit in Panaji is another such instance while PSI Tukaram Patil too has simply moved from PHQ Panaji to the MT Section within the same premises.
At the head constable and constable level, the pattern continues. Sachin Sawant and Sricant Pirankar have been moved from GRP Coy to the Panaji Police Station and Security Unit, respectively. Others like Sainath Revandekar and Sham Shirgaonkar have been transferred within PHQ premises from MT Section Panaji to Petition Cell Panaji and PHQ Panaji to CPC Panaji, respectively.
In some cases, such as with Abhijit Mangaonkar and Pankaj Volvoikar, the move is from Escort Cell Mapusa to Mapusa PS and main police station at Ponda to its traffic cell counterpart in the same town, effectively leaving them in the same locality.
Perhaps more concerning are the cases of personnel who were previously transferred to different police stations and shown as relieved, but never actually joined the new postings. For instance, a constable allegedly continued working at Agassaim PS despite having been transferred to Calangute and Verna in the past is transferred back to Agassaim from Verna.
Another constable, posted at Panaji PS despite being attached to SPCR, has now been moved to Old Goa, which still falls within the same subdivision that includes Agassaim and Panaji. Pareen Argekar’s transfer from Old Goa PS to Agassaim PS is another example of a shift within the same subdivision.
Mahesh Shirodkar’s transfer from Panaji TC to GRP Coy, Suraj Tendulkar from Panaji TC to PHQ, Vasudev Palyekar also from Panaji TC to GRP B Coy, Anil Belekar and Ramesh Bagi from GRP to Security Unit, Panaji, and Ramesh Shinde from SCRB Panaji to Special Branch Panaji, and Akshaya Naik from Canacona TC to Canacona PS are just a few names from a long list of those enjoying close by posting.
Senior officers at PHQ, on condition of anonymity, stated that while the department’s intent may be to maintain discipline and rotation, the execution has left much to be desired.
There are some notable exceptions in the order. Police Inspectors Filomena Costa and John Fernandes are shifted from GRP A Coy to the Traffic Cell at Fatorda, and from the Police Training School at Valpoi to the Security Unit in Panaji respectively.
Similarly, the SIT (Land Grab) has been strengthened with the inclusion of PSI Pritesh Madgaonkar from Agassaim, PSI Yogendra Garodi from SPCR and PSI Yogesh Gadkar from Anjuna. Constables Rohan Dhawaskar, Gaurav Naik, Sankalp Naik, and Upendra Dicholkar have also been moved to this SIT. PC Navin Palyekar has joined the SIT Mining team at Ribandar, from Old Goa.
