MARGAO
With suspicions raised in many quarters that Sunday’s Sonsodo fire was an act of mischief by miscreants, the Margao Municipal Council on Monday lodged an official complaint with the Fatorda Police to register an FIR, as the civic body suspects the fire was a case of arson.
Questions, however, have been raised as to whether the police will be able to zero in on the miscreants, given that only the entrance to the waste management shed is under CCTV surveillance and there are various entry and exit points to the waste dumping site.
The complaint lodged by Margao Municipal Chief Officer Melvyn Vaz on Monday has assumed significance and comes against the backdrop of fire officials suspecting the fire was a case of mischief played by anti-social elements.
In his complaint, the MMC CO drew the attention of the Fatorda police to the fire that occurred to the dry waste in the MRF shed at Sonsodo in the early hours of Sunday.
The Chief Officer further drew the attention of the Fatorda police to the fact that the waste piled up inside the MRF shed was burning from all four sides.
“It is pertinent to inform you that the winter season is upon us and there is a misty climate at night. The likelihood of a fire occurring due to natural causes is nil. This office suspects that this is a case of arson by some miscreants or anti-social elements,” the Chief Officer said, while requesting the police to register an offence in this regard and carry out a thorough investigation.
The MMC’s action comes in the wake of the suspicion raised by Civic Chief Damu Shirodkar on Monday, who has strong reasons to doubt that miscreants had set the waste alight.
