PANAJI
After two months of back-to-back deployments, Goa Police can finally take a breather. Their marathon which began with the decennial exposition of St Francis Xavier’s relics in November 2024 and ran through the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Christmas and New Year’s festivities is finally coming to an end.
With the 45-day SFX exposition concluding on Sunday and other major events already over, the force is easing out from its stretched limits.
“We maintained heavy deployment throughout covering everything from local security to traffic management besides the law and order and routine investigation,” Deputy Inspector General of Police Varsha Sharma (IPS) said, recounting the herculean effort with The Goan.
The initial days of the exposition saw heightened security and was boosted by the Indian Reserve Battalion, Goa Reserve Police and home guard volunteers. Even office staff pitched in, Sharma said. To manage additional coastal and local security demands, personnel were redeployed as needed.
“Fortunately, everything went smoothly with no incidents at the exposition,” Sharma said, adding that South Goa police contributed manpower for SFX and subsequent events since the north saw a bigger buzz. “The exposition is a massive undertaking… it happens only once every ten years,” she added.
Police leave was restricted during this high-pressure period even for Christian officers during Christmas and New Year. “Unless it was an emergency, leaves were deferred. Everyone understood the importance of duty,” the DIG added.
Despite the smooth execution, Sharma conceded to isolated incidents including brawls at two beach shacks, of which one turned out to be fatal. “We will go strongly now with the shack operators… We will recommend cancellation of the licenses of operators involved in crimes,” she asserted.
The Pink Force, tasked with women’s safety, also worked around the clock helping in cases of missing children and lost belongings. “Our personnel were on their toes 24/7,” Sharma said as the busiest season closes.
The peak period also saw the death of an IITian topper Karan Kashyap, allegedly due to complicated intoxication. Five youths, who were caught consuming drugs were detained from Sunburn venue and released later. The ANC sleuths also posted at several locations, confirmed the youths had consumed drugs outside the EDM venue.
