Police seek public assistance in nabbing miscreants

MARGAOrThe South District police for the first time on Thursday conceded that the spate of desecrations involving nine crosses and a temple is not the handiwork of a deranged person, but a deliberate act of creating panic amongst the public, even as district police chief, SP Chandan Chaudhary announced a handsome reward for members of the public for providing concrete clues to detect the cases. rThe police further said that the police are also verifying the “dump data” from cell phone operators to verify the movement of the miscreants involved in the desecrations. rAddressing the media, the Superintendent of Police said that two IRB platoons have been deployed in Salcete to keep the miscreants the bay. r“The spate of incidents does not appear to be the handiwork of a deranged person, but rather a well-planned move to trigger panic in the society. The police are doing its best to rein in the miscreants. We have got certain leads and the police are working on them,” she said. r While making a fervent plea to the people to extend their cooperation and help to the Goa police in nabbing the culprits, the police official announced a “handsome” reward for anyone providing a definite clue to achieve a breakthrough in these cases. r“People in the villages and towns can help the police in providing information about the miscreants involved in the incidents. Be rest assured, their names will be kept confidential and will never be disclosed,” she said. r He said sleuths of the Anti-Terrorist Squad and Cyber cell have started their investigations into the incidents, adding that the help of the cell phone operators have been sought to achieve a breakthrough in the cases. r She pointed out that the police stations of Maina Curtorim, Margao and Curchorem have rounded up more than 50 persons in the last few days under section 41 of the Criminal Procedure Code. “The police are conducting search of the vehicles at night as a precautionary measure,” she added. r The district police chief further pointed out that the Margao police has set up pickets at 26 points across the city, virtually sealing off the commercial capital during night time in a bid to check the movement of burglars and miscreants. r Conceding that the police stations are facing a manpower shortage, the SP said that the department had ordered an audit on the status of manpower at the police station so that excess staff from one station can be transferred to another. “Our investigations into the desecration cases have not hit a dead end. We have only sought cooperation from the people so that their clues help the police in nabbing the culprits,” she added.