Was it a hoax ? At around 1813 hrs just as office goers were returning to
their homes and housewives were going through their routine shopping chores,
a sudden rumour was spread near the Gandhi market which links to Calconda
below the road over bridge that some persons armed with swords and knives were
coming to attack people in the New Market, this led to the crowds at the
vegetable market fleeing towards the Aquem side and the central party of the
city. It was rumoured that In the melee a woman fell down and another vendor
got his head hurt as he tried to rush into a nearby pharmacy. The armed
constabulary was rushed to the scene and PI Maina Curtorim Police station was
seen at the scene alongwith other police officers near the Pimpalkatta. and
Gandhi Market..
When this writer rushed to the Gandhi Market at around 1843 the vegetable
vendors mostly migrants of the minority community were going about their
routine business although groups of them were seen herded together in animated
discussions. This writer enquired of a businessmen present hailing from
Bhatkal present at the site about the incident and he feigned ignorance of
seeing any one armed around the place. He claimed it to be a wild rumour
stating further that such false alams were a routine in Mangalore during riots
aand rubbished the incident as hogwash.
Incidentally this incident comes at a time when a truck found abandoned near
the Monte for a couple of days was discovered to be laden with 17 swords
yesterday . The identity of the owner of the truck is being investigated.
According to a policemen who spoke to this writer at the Gandhi Market he
alleged that the truck GA-01-W-5785 a non transport vehicle believed to be
registered at Directorate of Transport Police Ponda has now been kept at the
Cuncolim Police Station.
Some allege that the swords may have been purposefully tucked therein taking
advantage of the abandoned truck. lying for days. Incidentally the Monte is
the vote bank of the CM Mr Digamber Kamat and he is known to be nursing this
constituency much to the chagrin of the BJP hence some see a motive behind the
"discovery" or "planting" of the weapons. In any case the police came in for
praise for discovering a potential cache and this could set the precussor to
conduct a house to house verification of antecedents of the occupants of the
notified slum at Monte.
Following todays incident most of the shops in the New Market shut down with
the exception of a miniscule few. So also the shops around the Municipal
Garden, though many shops belonging to the minority Catholic community were
open. Buses took off with surging crowd to their destinations to the villages
of Salcete. Police were encouraging the shopkeepers to keep their shops
open but they preferred to shut them considering the business was slack after
the incident.
Meanwhile a group of citizens gathered enmasse at the South Goa Police
Headquarters and demanded that the police nab the culprits involved in
the truck containing the swords. They were agitated that they had to wait for
long as the SP was unavailable until much after the incident took place in the
Gandhi Market. When this writer visited the Police station around 10 persons
were already interacting with the SP Mr Prabhudesai and handing over a
memorandum .
The situation returned to normal as of now though police pickets have been
stationed and more reinforcements are being requisitioned for eventualites
GODFREY J. I. GONSALVES,
BORDA, MARGAO, 403 602, GOA. (INDIA)
+91 98221 58584 (24 HRS)
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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