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Welcome to yet another edition of Gerard’s Gazette, a weekly newsletter in which I attempt to break down the events of the week gone by and offer a bit of context, as well as a dose of news you may have missed and news behind the news. If this is your first time here, thank you for signing up, and I hope you stick around! And, as always, if you like what you are reading, make sure you pass it around. Thanks for reading GERARD’s Gazette! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. Rama-yana Rama Kankonkar. It’s been two weeks since he was attacked [ https://substack.com/redirect/425920af-5a00-43dc-9e17-8237bef2e81f?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ]and finally this week, after murmurings about his failure to record his statement began to get louder [ https://substack.com/redirect/fdeb1149-7b37-41b1-9e2b-b9731aa23280?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ], recorded his statement before the police. [ https://substack.com/redirect/54f1b039-d294-409d-96d6-49fc345df616?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ] But the controversy refuses to die down. And in fact, speculation continues over what exactly Kankonar has said in his statement to the police, whether he has named any mastermind and the possible motive behind the attack. Several news reports [ https://substack.com/redirect/4d5175a1-9824-4781-9352-b47e5580df97?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ] have claimed to have inside information on the statement made before the police and have reported that Rama has so far identified only Miguel Araujo as someone who had been threatening, ‘harassing’ and stalking him for days in the run up to the deadly assault [ https://substack.com/redirect/6444e93e-7eb1-41c5-9f00-ccb39e162290?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ] on that fateful day, that Araujo had threatened him prior to the attack and that during the assault he was insulted with derogatory terms like ‘Gauda’ and taunted for calling himself a ‘rakhondar’ (protector). The statement was recorded over a period of three hours, in the presence of his wife. However, on Saturday, his wife claimed that the media was falsely reporting the statement [ https://substack.com/redirect/f938438f-2df5-4a19-bb63-9e6ae88f06e4?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ] given to the police and suggested that the police might have recorded a statement different from what was told to them. What is the truth then? Now I haven’t seen the statements nor can I claim to have inside information on what’s exactly recorded in the statement. What has appeared in the media so far is thanks to ‘leaks’ from the police to the media. Let’s for a moment assume that what the media has reported so far is only a part of the statement given to the police and that the part given so far is true. This doesn’t necessarily contradict anything that we know so far about the case. Miguel Araujo, one of the arrested accused in the state, was definitely one of the attackers and was possibly the one assigned to track/follow Kankonkar and threaten him prior to the attack. But then there’s a section of the media that has been reporting that Kankonkar claimed that this attack was a result of a personal dispute [ https://substack.com/redirect/225d3d29-f4e1-438f-ba8e-2c6a4d66273c?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ] -- that an accident that took place between Rama’s vehicle and Araujo’s resulting in road rage -- and that this attack was a result of that vehicular dispute. This is laughable to say the least. Not only does this contradict what North Goa Superintendent of Police Rahul Gupta told the media [ https://substack.com/redirect/4570153e-6df8-405b-9b45-933251bc08e4?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ], which was that the arrested accused, during their custodial interrogation had unanimously named Zenito Cardozo as being the one who ordered them to attack Kankonkankar, but it is also incredulous that a minor accident will lead to such a brutal attack replete with taunts about his activism without there being any other motive. There is obviously more than what meets the eye. But irrespective of whether you believe what is in the media or not, what’s clear, at least for now, is that Rama has not named any ‘mastermind’ much less hinted that a sitting cabinet minister has masterminded the attack on him. And while it is only fair that we give this more time, don’t be surprised if hectic efforts between the real mastermind and his victim to ‘compromise’ the case are underway. Goa has seen this before. It was about a year back, when a Goan family the Agarwadekars, whose Assagao house was demolished by a Delhi builder [ https://substack.com/redirect/78420369-e03b-4b42-a05a-53021524c93b?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ] raised a hue and cry -- that not only brought the Goa Chief Minister to their doorstep [ https://substack.com/redirect/92e2c820-8235-4877-9457-6193a2801bd2?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ], but also resulted in the transfer of Goa’s then Director General of Police Jaspal Singh [ https://substack.com/redirect/d70e0311-46e9-46f9-a288-306c3fb6a0fa?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ], to Delhi. Only for the family to then compromise with the builde [ https://substack.com/redirect/c38804d5-4768-4d76-ba21-657a719094e5?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ]r the terms of which were never made public. Too early to judge, of course, but something to watch out for nonetheless. Goa gets a new cricket stadium, or does it? Goa got a new cricket stadium this week. [ https://substack.com/redirect/fba79a0a-7059-485c-9ac6-d95ea0c10a1b?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ] Or so we are told. This cricket stadium, a private one no less, built in Loutolim along the edge of the Verna Industrial Estate [ https://substack.com/redirect/aee00b0e-13b8-4dba-81c9-ff27a02beda0?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ], was quite literally a bolt from the blue. Little was heard about this stadium until now and for good reason. If local villagers are to be believed [ https://substack.com/redirect/6f4f67e4-6d15-469c-beb2-36faff43d753?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ], the construction of a stadium is nothing but an exercise in highhandedness. The construction began without obtaining a conversion sanad, as is mandatory under the Goa Land Revenue Code, and is also unlikely to get the necessary permissions because there’s a high tension transmission line running right overhead, meaning only a narrow set of activities can be allowed on the ground below. Despite that, and despite not having a completion certificate issued by the panchayat, not only was the stadium inaugurated, but it was inaugurated with much fanfare with no less that India’s T20 cricket captain Surya Kumar Yadav, who recently lifted the Asia Cup in attendance for the inauguration alongside Goa’s Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, minister Mauvin Godinho and other ‘high-ranking’ officials. To understand what’s going on, we have to understand who is behind this. The man behind this stadium is a certain Kamla Prasad Yadav. You may or may not have heard of Kamla Prasad Yadav before. He is a former sarpanch of the Chicalim panchayat, a builder by profession and a close aide of Industries Minister Mauvin Godinho. It is this same Kamla Prasad Yadav, whose built illegal structures within the funnel zone at Goa’s Dabolim airport, in violation of civil aviation and naval aviation norms [ https://substack.com/redirect/06f20948-316e-483e-971f-f518dca4fc68?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ]. It took the intervention of the High Court to have the structures demolished [ https://substack.com/redirect/3d96dca1-efd0-4e55-b929-f955dfa20be7?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ] and even then, Godinho was railing and ranting that the Navy was ruling Goa by proxy [ https://substack.com/redirect/cce33547-79c7-467d-9987-3322bffda4c9?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ], all because his ‘friend’s’ buildings had to be demolished. [ https://substack.com/redirect/1c06c89f-4ced-4ebf-9755-0d3345dd511d?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ] To be fair, the promoters of the private stadium, have said that they have permission from the Investment Promotion Board, or IPB as it is popularly known and that if there are any other permissions that are yet needed they will get them in due course. Really? Is this yet another example of the law working according to who’s involved rather than on the basis of what the offence is? One man’s food is another man’s poison This week saw officials of the Enforcement Directorate raid the premises connected to Golden Globe Hotels Pvt Ltd. [ https://substack.com/redirect/5df04744-7725-4666-a500-0ee9d0f00ed2?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ] a casino group owned by Gopal Goyal Kanda, a former minister in the Haryana government who also served as a past director of the company. Mr Goyal, as you know had visited Goa, famously when the casino ship MV Lucky Seven ran aground on the Miramar beach [ https://substack.com/redirect/37847d33-75d2-4c6a-90f0-ea10e2216ad8?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ] and where it stayed for several weeks before it could be towed away. That ship now functions as the Big Daddy Casino in the River Mandovi. But the group’s interests in Goa do not end there. According to the ED’s press release [ https://substack.com/redirect/49a5903d-41ee-4bc3-b9eb-661a2bd383f1?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ], they recovered “various incriminating documents, digital evidence, and cash amounting to Rs. 2.25 Crore (approx.) in Indian currency, USD 14,000 and other different foreign currency equivalent to around Rs. 8.50 Lakh”. The offence, according to the ED, was that “poker chips were being provided to customers in lieu of foreign currency, and winnings were disbursed in foreign currency based on customer requirements” in other words, gambling was being allowed directly in foreign currency and more than that, staff of the casino were actively promoting online gambling platforms Win Daddy and Poker Daddy among others. Poker Daddy has gone offline after the Union government banned all real money online games, but Win Daddy, that is registered in Curacao, which as you may not be aware, is a country in the Caribbean, specifically the Dutch Caribbean but which specifically caters to an Indian audience according to their website [ https://substack.com/redirect/8e5b8e9f-2cee-4f8c-86f0-92c568492065?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ]. So why does all this matter? One among the group’s companies whose premises were raided by the ED was Worldwide Resorts and Entertainment Pvt, Ltd. This was the same group, as you may remember, that saw its controversial hotel project in Bambolim stayed after protests by locals and environmentalists including local MLA Viresh Borkar and Goa Green Brigade’s Avertino Miranda. This was a project that was given an extra FAR (Floor Area Ratio) of 200 by Goa’s TCP Department and an extra height. That wasn’t all, the State Expert Appraisal Committee quite literally bent over backwards to grant an environmental clearance for this project [ https://substack.com/redirect/474e8ea9-40f8-41a5-b900-56f97a815fa3?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ] (video in Konkani) at Bambolim. Despite observing “substantial hill cutting, puncturing of the groundwater aquifers” the environmental body decided to go ahead and recommend the project for an environmental clearance. This is all so you know, who exactly the current government of Goa is bending over backwards for. The very criminals that the ED is arresting -- the Goa government is rolling out the red carpet for and handing over our hills, water aquifers and way of life for 30 pieces of silver. Cyril the Great Does the name ring a bell? It probably doesn’t so let me remind you about who he is. Remember Goa’s former Chief Secretary Puneet Kumar Goel, who was transferred [ https://substack.com/redirect/a9320276-c15b-41ca-ab0f-a65a47e7a825?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ] out of the state after, it was uncovered that he had bought a plot of agricultural land (paddy field) at Panelim in Aldona, which contained an already built house and which was sought to be regularised [ https://substack.com/redirect/f891714a-1e87-4563-a107-b9c5fdca39ff?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ]post facto [ https://substack.com/redirect/f891714a-1e87-4563-a107-b9c5fdca39ff?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ] via a land conversion through the TCP Department [ https://substack.com/redirect/f891714a-1e87-4563-a107-b9c5fdca39ff?j=eyJ1IjoiMTdkMzMzIn0.fgOj6myyAgvFoWmj-LgXwMrpDLUf7f7HnFNWVfgXm9c ]? And whose land conversion file he himself as TCP secretary signed, thereby raising issues of conflict of interest? Yeah well, the man who sold the plot to the Chief Secretary was Cyril Philip Mendonça. The said Mendonça, who usually lives abroad, is now in Goa and is up to his old tricks once again. This Cyril, it turns out, is no one-off land owner and owns multiple pieces of land spread across multiple villages of Pernem, Bardez and Bicholim. In Bardez, he owns land in Colvale and Ponolem (Calvim, Aldona) in Pernem, he owns multiple plots in Arambol and in Bicholim he owns a couple of plots at Salem (Sal, Bicholim). The news is that save for the Colvale property, which is in a settlement area and which has a legally constructed house, the other properties are agricultural properties or covered by the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) and yet have structures standing on them. It is not right for me to comment on the legality of these structures unless I have more information, but the reason why I’m mentioning this is that some of these properties are now up for sale including the ones in Colvale and Arambol. The Chief Secretary got transferred and his case is now before the High Court. You don’t want to be following suit. That’s all I have for you this week. Make sure you comment or write in, should you have something, anything to say. I would also invite you to contribute via sending in your views, especially on a subject you know something about, and I will be happy to include it as part of the newsletter. You are also welcome to write in with leads and tip-offs or anything that you think might be interesting enough to include here. As always, please share and help spread the word. Until next week, then. Tchau! Thanks for reading GERARD’s Gazette! This post is public so feel free to share it. 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