MAPUSA
Life was calm and predictable for the Ghanekar family until the early hours of Tuesday shattered their sense of safety.
In the elite neighbourhood of Ganeshpuri, Mapusa, known for its rows of bungalows owned by doctors and businessmen, the family never imagined they would become the centre of one of Goa’s most chilling robberies in recent memory.
In the still of the night, five to six masked dacoits stormed into the bungalow of Dr Mahendra Ghanekar, held the family hostage for nearly two hours and escaped with Rs 50 lakh worth of cash and valuables. As if to mock their victims, they reportedly had tea and snacks before leaving the scene – calm, calculated and unhurried.
Crime executed with precision
This was no impulsive burglary. The gang knew exactly what they were doing. They took away the DVR connected to the CCTV system, effectively erasing evidence. They seized all the family’s mobile phones, preventing any call for help and then discarded the devices barely 100 metres from the house to avoid being tracked.
“They behaved like professionals. They seemed to know where the cameras were, even how long they could take before anyone noticed. That’s what’s really frightening,” said a resident of Ganeshpuri, still shaken by the incident.
Police teams quickly fanned out across the State and into neighbouring regions. Within days, three suspects were reportedly tracked down in Bengaluru, but by then, the robbers had already slipped out of Goa. For many locals, it was another case where the system reacted too late.
Old wounds, unanswered questions
For Mapusa and the larger Bardez taluka, this dacoity reopens old wounds – unsolved cases that have faded from public memory but not from local frustration.
In 2021, the mysterious death of Siddhi Naik, whose body was found on Calangute beach, stirred public outrage after it was first registered as an unnatural death and later transferred to the Crime Branch under pressure. The case remains open.
And before that, in 2012, Ratnakar Raikar, a goldsmith, was murdered in broad daylight in Mapusa. Despite sketches of suspects and several arrests, including one from West Bengal, the case saw no conclusive end.
“These incidents are reminders that we have a pattern of half-finished investigations. People stop expecting closure – that’s the dangerous part,” said Adv Mahesh Rane, a resident of Mapusa.
The smarter criminals
What the Ghanekar dacoity drives home is a troubling reality: criminals are learning faster than the system that’s supposed to stop them.
The robbers neutralised every tool the police rely on – CCTV footage, mobile signals, even panic calls. Their strategy was straight out of a crime manual: disable surveillance, silence communication, escape before borders are sealed.
In Goa, policing still functions largely in a reactive mode. FIRs are filed after the fact; surveillance footage is checked days later, and inter-state coordination begins only when criminals are already gone.
Missing surveillance net
The dacoity has triggered renewed calls for stronger surveillance in Goa’s towns and villages. Despite Mapusa being one of North Goa’s busiest urban areas, CCTV coverage remains patchy. Most residential colonies rely on private systems that are rarely linked to any police control room.
“There should be cameras at least at all key junctions and colony entrances. If the robbers could be seen leaving Mapusa that night, we’d have had a breakthrough within hours. Instead, we’re left guessing,” said a Mapusa businessman.
Beyond cameras: The culture of accountability
Even with more cameras, experts say, surveillance alone cannot compensate for delayed response or weak accountability. The State Police Complaints Authority recently found two officers guilty of dereliction of duty in another case, ordering a reduction in pay. Though unrelated, that rare action underscores the systemic malaise that often hampers investigations – slow action, poor coordination and lack of urgency.
The Goa Police hierarchy is robust on paper, with inspectors, DySPs and SPs across every taluka. Yet, when half a dozen robbers can walk into a posh colony, hold a family captive and walk out with a fortune, it raises an uncomfortable question: Is the structure effective, or just elaborate?
What needs to change
The Mapusa incident should ideally be a turning point. Experts and residents are calling for:
* Integrated CCTV networks linked to control rooms for real-time monitoring. * Rapid-response units capable of reaching a scene within minutes, not hours. * Automatic border alerts triggered the moment a major crime is reported. * Community policing programmes where residents share security intelligence with local stations.
Most of all, there is a call for institutional accountability – where delays, inaction or procedural lapses are treated as serious failures, not routine occurrences.
Test for Goa Police
The Ghanekar case is not just about one family’s trauma; it’s a test of Goa’s policing system. The robbers didn’t outsmart the police by brilliance – they simply exploited predictability and complacency.
As the investigation continues, Ganeshpuri’s residents remain anxious. “We used to think crimes like this happen in big metros. Now we know they can happen right here, even to people like us,” said Ashish Shirodkar, a businessman and the president of the Ganeshpuri Society.
The fear in Mapusa is palpable, but so is the hope that this incident might finally push the system to reform. Because if not, the next gang might be sipping tea in another bungalow before the police even know they’ve arrived.
