MARGAO
With accused Gautam Khattar detained in Himachal Pradesh on Friday evening, activist Pratima Coutinho said the police should prepare a watertight case against the accused, adding that members of the core group, along with other leaders, would now meet on Sunday to decide on the future course of action.
Youth leader Warren Alemao has said the arrest of Gautam Khattar is a victory for every Goemkar who stood united to protect our faith and identity.
Protesters demanding the arrest of Gautam Khattar for allegedly insulting St Francis Xavier had on Thursday set a deadline of 5 pm on Friday for the government to arrest the accused or threatened to paralyse Goa.
Coutinho said since the accused has been detained in Himachal Pradesh, they hope the Goa police would book him under stringent provisions of law for hurting the sentiments of the people by delivering a hate speech. “We are not going ahead with any plan of action till Sunday when members of the core group would decide the future course of action,” she said.
She also said the Goa police should investigate the case thoroughly to unravel the conspiracy hatched by hate mongers to insult St Francis Xavier and to hurt the sentiments of the people of Goa. “This does not appear to be the job of one accused person. Hence, the Crime Branch should go deep into the matter and find out how Khattar landed in Goa, who tutored him to speak against St Francis Xavier, etc,” she added.
On the demand to drop Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho from the Pramod Sawant Cabinet, Coutinho said the people of Goa would continue to demand Godinho’s sacking from the Ministry for endorsing Khattar’s hate speech. “Mauvin Godinho cannot abdicate his responsibility in the entire episode since he had endorsed Khattar’s speech at the programme,” she said.
Saying the future course of action will be decided on Sunday, Coutinho made a fervent plea to the people of Goa to stay calm and maintain peace.
Meanwhile, youth leader Warren Alemao said the arrest of Gautam Khattar is a victory for every Goemkar who stood united to protect our faith and identity. “St Francis Xavier is the pride and soul of Goa. Any insult to Him will never be tolerated. This action shows that when Goans stand together, justice follows,” he said, demanding strict action so that no one dares to hurt people’s sentiments again.
