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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