Team Goemkarponn
Panaji: The Aam Aadmi Party has asked the Governor of Goa to seek the resignation of Chief Minister and Home Minister Pramod Sawant, saying the state’s law and order situation has deteriorated to an alarming level. A party delegation met the Governor on Thursday and submitted a list of recent violent crimes, alleging that the police machinery has failed and that criminals no longer fear the law.
The delegation included MLA Venzy Viegas, working presidents Valmiki Naik and Gerson Gomes, and Women’s Wing vice president Suvarna Harmalkar. They told the Governor that the state has seen a sharp rise in robberies, assaults and shootings under the BJP government.
Viegas said Goa is witnessing “brutal crimes every day” and claimed the police investigation system is failing. He dismissed the Chief Minister’s review meetings with the police as mere optics. He urged the Governor to call the Chief Minister for a meeting and ask him to strengthen the law and order mechanism.
Naik said the administration has failed to assert control over criminals. He criticised what he called routine statements by the Chief Minister after each crime and said residents no longer feel safe in their homes. He repeated the party’s demand for a full-time Home Minister.
The memorandum listed several recent incidents including armed robberies in Baina, Dona Paula and Mapusa, the murder of farmer Umakant Khot in Morjim, the assault on activist Rama Kankonkar, shootings linked to illegal sand extraction in Pernem and an attack in Madkai, the gang fight in Mungul, and murders in Pirna and Saligao.
The party also accused sections of the police of misconduct, citing the assault on Edberg Pereira inside the Navelim police station and the involvement of IRB personnel in the Pernem case. AAP alleged political pressure on the police, naming the Chief Minister and Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte in connection with the attack on Kankonkar.
Gerson Gomes said Goa’s long-standing image as a peaceful tourist destination has suffered, while Harmalkar urged the Governor to intervene and push for the Chief Minister’s resignation as Home Minister.
AAP placed three demands before the Governor. These include freeing the police from political influence, strengthening investigative systems to ensure faster arrests and convictions, and launching statewide public safety measures such as enhanced patrolling, community policing, night surveillance and volunteer support for senior citizens.
