MAPUSA
Aldona MLA Carlos Ferreira has demanded the immediate suspension of Crime Branch Superintendent of Police (SP) Rahul Gupta while questioning the involvement of Goa police’s top brass in the escape of notorious land grabbing accused Suleman Siddique Khan.
Khan managed to flee from police custody, raising serious concerns about lapses in security and law enforcement protocols.
Ferreira highlighted major inconsistencies in the case, particularly pointing to CCTV footage that allegedly shows an IRB constable, Amit Naik, unlocking the cell and escorting the accused out without any other staff or guards present. "The video clearly shows Naik opening the lockup and taking the accused out, but where are the other constables or guards? How can a person, whom it took over four years to arrest, be allowed to walk away so easily?" Ferreira questioned.
The Congress MLA also criticized the selective release of CCTV footage by the police and raised several unanswered questions surrounding the incident.
He alleged that such an escape could not have taken place without “active connivance and involvement” of senior officials within the Crime Branch.
Ferreira further claimed that several complaints submitted to the Crime Branch have not been registered as FIRs and were instead compromised, with fraudulent sale deeds benefiting high-level politicians.
"The buck stops with the SP as the head of the Crime Branch. SP Rahul Gupta has been handpicked by the Chief Minister to head this department. Can we infer that he was appointed to protect BJP supporters and those in the CM's good books?" Ferreira asked pointedly.
Calling for accountability, Ferreira insisted that SP Rahul Gupta must be suspended to ensure a free and fair investigation into the matter.
“Action against small fry is not enough. This is a complete failure of law and order. The Chief Minister, who also serves as the Home Minister, must explain this mockery of the system, where criminals are being shielded by the police.”
Ferreira further challenged Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to prove his lack of involvement in the matter.
“If the CM has no role in this entire episode and truly seeks the truth, then he should order a high-level inquiry led by a retired High Court judge. The investigation should scrutinize the methodology followed by the Crime Branch and SIT in handling land grabbing cases, starting from the receipt of each complaint.”
The escape of Suleman Khan has sparked widespread outrage, with Ferreira emphasizing that it underscores a systemic collapse in law and order in Goa.
He reiterated that only a transparent, impartial investigation can restore public trust in the state’s policing system.
