PANAJI
The Goa Police have initiated an inquiry into the sudden disappearance of a Delhi-registered car from the premises of the Colvale Police Station.
The elite force is facing scrutiny as the Ford Endeavour car, which was not officially recorded during its attachment, went missing from the premises just last month. The alleged theft of the vehicle has been noted in the station diary.
After an expose by The Goan on Sunday, the department ordered the inquiry which was announced on social media. "This matter has been brought to the notice of SP North and SDPO Mapusa and is being enquired into," the official Twitter handle of the Goa Police stated, in response to the published report.
The incident pertains to the suspected illegal purchase of the DL3C AY 6511 car, which was seized by a police sub-inspector from a scrapyard in April 2023. It was then brought to the police station where it was parked along with other abandoned vehicles. All of this occurred just two months before the car's registration expired on June 19, 2023. Surprisingly, as per the station diary entry on June 21, 2023, the car went missing.
The inquiry, sources said, focuses on how the car disappeared, with a constable also coming under suspicion. The Goan spoke to a few officers in the department who pointed fingers at certain staff in the subordinate hierarchy, accusing them of negligence. The investigation is also looking into whether or not the car was illegally sold.
There are also claims that the vehicle was returned to the scrapyard owner, and a receipt was obtained. However, the department has not explained why the station diary recorded the vehicle as stolen/missing if it was indeed returned.
Goa police are once again facing criticism from social media users. One Twitter user with the handle @99Goa raised questions about the functioning of the police stations.
"The inward log entry is absent, conveniently; because a lot had to be explained. The outward log entry of 'missing' is conveniently there. Technically, #GoaPolice wants to say a car was never brought into Colvale PS, but it went missing from there? Another #WorldRecord GP." it said.
