Panaji: The Concerned Parents of Goa has condemned the high-banded action of the Goa Police in illegally detaining their children in Panjim on 19th December in the afternoon.
“Our children, who had gone to Panjim to celebrate the 60″ Goa Liberation Day were treated like criminals for no reason and were wrongfully confined till late into the night without rhyme or reason,” the parents said at a press conference.
They said their wards were detained in an inhuman manner forced into buses and police vans and taken from Panjim to Colvale, Colvale to Mangueshi and then to Ponda which calls for serious investigation into this highhanded and illegal action of the Police.
“This unwarranted and criminal act by the GoaPolice needs to be enquired into and due action taken against the perpetrators of these inhuman and illegal actions against our wards. We the concerned parents of Goa demand that an independent inquiry to be conducted preferably at the judicial level to investigate how and why the Goa Police acted in such manner and at whose behest or orders,” they said.
They said it was totally unbecoming of the Goa Police and inhuman as well as illegal and violating the basic human rights of our children as well the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution of India including Article21.
“Restricting the liberty of the citizens without justification is a serious violation of one’s constitutional Right to Liberty and such violations cannot be taken lightly or condoned. Our children with our consent were participating unarmed in the celebration. They were not even carrying or any weapons. The children had even taken precautions and were cautious of the program of the President in the morning, and therefore had planned to hold their celebration in the afternoon so that there is no clash with the official function of the President,” they said.
They said the state government should also clarify their stand in this matter and also clarify their role in the incident.
“The use of Government machinery to trample upon citizens constitutional rights unjustifiably is always seen as a sign of weakness of the Government proving that this Government has no grassroots connect with the spirit and aspiration of its citizens. And we therefore jointly condemn and demand that justice to be given to our children,” they said.
The parents also condemned the misreporting of this incident in some of the Sunday newspapers and in electronic media and branding our children as protestors.
“We wish to correct these newspaper reports and clarify that our children were there to celebrate the Liberation Day and not to protest or conduct any demonstration,” they said.