PANAJI
Director General of Police (DGP) Alok Kumar has denied reports of organised gang wars in the State, asserting that there are no syndicate activities or extortion rackets operating in Goa.
He, however, stated that some outside criminal elements have attempted to take shelter in the State. In the same breath, he stated the department has been maintaining vigil through intelligence.
Speaking on Prudent Media’s Head On programme, Kumar clarified that the recent clash in Mungul-Margao, the first such incident reported in South Goa, was not linked to any fight for territory.
“It was between two groups and not a fight for territory. Over 20 people have been arrested so far, and more arrests will follow,” he said.
“There are no such incidents of kidnapping, extortion, threatening or organised syndicate activity in Goa. We cannot call it a gang war. If a group of individuals commit an isolated crime like beating someone up, that cannot be defined as a gang in the true sense. The recent fight was not over illegal economic activities," he explained.
The DGP warned that “goondagiri will not be tolerated.”
Kumar revealed that the Goa police is working on a new initiative to involve the hospitality industry in efforts to track criminals who attempt to take refuge in the State.
“We will be working with the hospitality industry to develop a mechanism where real-time information sharing happens... It will be done with utmost care for privacy... if any criminals try to take refuge in Goa, they can be tracked through the mechanism,” he said.
This initiative comes even as the force has been acting against non-Goan criminal elements, including those linked to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
“Once we have real-time information, it will go a long way in preventing such elements from entering Goa,” Kumar added.
Responding to a question on the arrest of an ISIS operative in Goa, the DGP said the accused did not have a long history of staying in the state.
“In the last 10 years, his total residential presence here was only six to eight months. Our local intelligence network is strong and we continuously coordinate with other agencies. That is why such people are being detected and caught,” he said, assuring that there is no possibility of Goa becoming a base for such elements and that Goa police are always alert.
On tenant verification, Kumar said a new app will soon be launched to streamline the process.
“Criminal elements may mix within them. To counter this, we are launching a new app this year for tenant verification. Each tenant will get a unique ID... This automated system will speed up verification and help us build a centralised database. It will act as deterrent and source of intelligence,” he said.
On reports of a few policemen being caught misbehaving or indulging in misconduct, Kumar maintained that there has been no alarming rise in such cases.
“The trend has remained the same for years. But our policy remains clear: zero tolerance towards such behaviour,” he said, adding that departmental action such as suspension or dismissal continues as before.
The DGP also suggested strengthening the recruitment process with psychological assessment parameters. “We emphasise both external and internal discipline", he said.
He further informed that daily briefings and debriefings have been introduced to improve accountability. “In addition, under the guidance of our Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, who also focuses on physical and mental health, a program is launched to improve police health and wellbeing,” he said.
