In Leoncio’s death on 12th December, 2020, Cansaulim lost a true son of the soil who made the village proud and Goa lost an epitome of honesty
On the 4th of December 1957, a young lad walked into the office of the then Police Chief of Portuguese Goa, Joao Aranha, seeking a job. Perhaps he had waited to make this important career move after invoking the blessings of St Francis Xavier on his feast day the day before. But there was no job except that of an auxiliary guard. At 22 years of age, Leoncio Lifardo Ipacio Gracias’ qualifications and robust physique should have easily got him a much higher position, but so inspired and eager was the young man to get inside the police uniform that he accepted the job without blinking twice!
Leoncio worked on the lowest rung of police hierarchy for five months. His dedication and calibre quickly caught the eye of his superiors and soon enough he was given a promotion, a revolver and the formidable task of catching Goa’s contentious freedom fighter Prabhakar Sinari “dead or alive”. Young Leoncio bravely plunged himself into dangerous territory risking life and limb and hunted Sinari for almost three years. On a couple of occasions, he even came close to catching him, but missed Sinari by a whisker.
Goa was liberated in the December of 1961 and Mr Prabhakar Sinari was a free man. As fate would have it, he also joined the Goa Police and rose to a position where he would be Leoncio’s boss and later on his mentor and best friend. Was Mr Prabhakar Sinari aware that the officer working under him was once after his head? According to Leoncio, Sinari being Sinari, obviously he knew much more. But the gentlemen that he was, he never gave any indications but accorded due respect and encouragement to Leoncio, prompting him to assert time and again that Sinari was his best boss. They never ever touched the subject even after retirement and remained best of friends.
Leoncio quickly climbed the ranks with grit and determination to retire as Superintendent of Police, South Goa, in July 1993 after 36 years of distinguished service. After retirement, he moved into the modest dwelling that he had put up on his ancestral land in Cansaulim. A man of his position could have made enough ‘dough’ to afford a chauffeur-driven Mercedes, but not Leoncio; he seemed content driving around in his old Maruti 800, often with his big dogs.
Leoncio gave a different dimension to the narrative of political interference in police functioning. As he often asserted, no politician ever approached him for any illegal favours. Obviously, his reputation as an honest upright officer who wouldn’t yield to pressure preceded him- Leoncio was indeed the big cop in compact packaging! A much-decorated officer, he was the recipient of the President of India Police Gold Medal for meritorious service in 1980 and for distinguished service in 1989, besides numerous other awards. But the scars on his body suffered in the course of discharging his duty still far outnumbered the medallions.
According to Mr Alcasoas, a frequent visitor to Portugal, Joao Aranha (who now lives a peaceful retired life in Cascais, Portugal) still remembers the young lad of 1957 with fond nostalgia and he is the first thing the nonagenarian inquires about whenever he meets a Goan. A strict disciplinarian, Leoncio led by example and touched the hearts of many with his simplicity, honestly and refined qualities of the heart and mind. His subordinates would stand to attention and salute him even after his retirement.
Leoncio was an equally tough disciplinarian at home, yet loving and caring beyond the exterior. He wouldn’t allow the family members to make use of the official vehicles nor the domestic help assigned to him. Says his youngest son Sidney, “ If I was stopped by the cops for any traffic violation, I used to immediately offer to pay before they could read my licence and discover that I was L L I Gracias’ son, because if by any chance he got wind of the happenings, it meant sure disaster at home”. Unknown to many, Goa’s ace cop was also an ace Tango dancer who received much applause from young and old whenever he took to the floor with his graceful wife Sopia.
In Leoncio’s death on 12th December 2020, Cansaulim lost a true son of the soil who made the village proud and Goa lost an epitome of honesty, simplicity, integrity, values and principles that are no longer seen in public life.
