Last Saturdays newspaper had an unusual piece of news. It described a fight between a group of people on the Miramar – Dona Paula road – the Marine Drive of Goa – where an innocent passerby – a girl – got stabbed, along with one of the group.
This was unusual because, public brawls are not very common in Goa, and if such incidences do takes place, it has to do with tourists. And public brawls with swords and weapons indeed are so rare, they definitely makes one to sit up and wonder if it is a typing error, of a news from another part of the world.
And then there is the surprising revelation that the assault victim is from Taleigao and the assaulters are from St. Cruz, and all are Goans. That this incidence has taken in broad day light on one of the busier areas close to a Minister’s bungalow and where police presence is found round the clock.
Next day, newspapers inform us that all five St. Cruz persons who assaulted the Taleigao person have been arrested at Ambolim and brought to Panaji. And we wonder how have our policemen become so efficient?
It doesn’t need rocket science to relate this incident to the political developments in the capital, irrespective of the newspaper version that it was a simple quarrel between one man who used to beat up five men so often that the five retaliated in frustration!
Ever since Monserrate revealed his intentions of dropping ideas of contesting elections from Panaji and instead prefer St. Cruz constituency while his wife contested from his home ground of Taleigao, there has been some tension in the air.
The present MLA of St. Cruz definitely must have felt threatened, as was seen at the show of solidarity by congressmen who gathered last month to celebrate her birthday. And the present stabbing must have been something to do with the ground work friction between the two opposing groups, now that the elections are due in less than a year hence.
The victim’s Godfather apparently has enough clout with the police to galvanize action and get the offenders within a day. It also makes one wonder why Goa’s policemen are capable of arresting offenders who have fled the state, but are unable to catch offenders who rob people’s houses even in day light.
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