The sudden and abrupt transfer of the very efficient Panaji Sub –Divisional police officer (SDPO) Mr. Sammy Tavares sends a very wrong message to the already sagging morale of the police force.
A strong, independent and dedicated police force is vital to maintaining law and order. It is the need to preserve social order that led to the emergence of Police as an instrument of social control. Today the police force lacks independence. Whether they please the politicians or follow the rule book they face the brunt either ways. After 62 years of our country's Independence, Goa's police force is unjustly and very much under the grip and clutches of the politicians much to the detriment of the Aam Aadmi. It was a miracle I survived last year’s Oct 13th brutal assault at Panaji’s Ashok restaurant. But for the very professional and meticulous investigation by Mr. Sammy Tavares and his team under the supervision of our super cop Mr. Bosco George the identity of the masked attackers may have never been revealed. Sammy Tavares had been brought in as SDPO Panaji hours after that brutal attack. The limpet of a Chief Minister, Digambar Kamat, proclaims himself to be a Messiah of the Aam Aadmi but we all know that to hold on to his chair he has been bending all over the place revealing to be the Saviour of the rich and mighty. Sammy Tavares’s politically motivated transfer is in violation of the rules laid down by the Supreme Court as he had not completed two years in his current posting. This is a fit case for the High Court to take suo-moto cognizance and rap Chief Minister Digambar Kamat for this high-handed act. Political decisions in the guise of public interest must stop. Aires Rodrigues Ribandar
