News Analysis India

Tag: Goa

  • Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP team to visit Goa on September 20 to discuss poll strategy

    By PTI

    PANAJI: Senior BJP leaders, including former Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, would be arriving in Goa on September 20 to discuss the ruling party’s strategy for the 2022 Assembly elections, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said on Tuesday.

    Fadnavis, who will be leading a BJP team, has been appointed the election in-charge of Goa, where polls are slated in early 2022. Sawant told mediapersons here that he met Fadnavis in Mumbai earlier in the day. Union Minister for Culture and Tourism G Kishan Reddy and Minister of State for Railways and Textiles Darshana Jardosh have been appointed as co-incharge for the state polls.

    Sawant said the team, comprising Fadnavis, Reddy and Jardosh, would be arriving in the state on September 20 to decide the BJP’s strategy for the elections. Fadnavis’ vast experience in handling elections will be beneficial for the BJP in Goa, he said.

    Last year, the BJP had appointed the former Maharashtra CM as its in-charge for the Bihar assembly elections.

    Sawant said that during his visit to Gujarat on Monday to participate in the swearing-in ceremony of new chief minister Bhupendra Patel, he met Union Home Minister Amit Shah. “We discussed the political situation in Goa,” he said.

  • Goa cops bust fake call centre, arrest 13 from various states for duping US citizens

    By PTI

    PANAJI: The cyber crime cell of Goa Police on Wednesday claimed to have busted a fake call centre with the arrest of 13 persons from various states for allegedly posing as officials representing the US social security administration and extorting money from citizens of that country, police said.

    The accused were arrested from Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Delhi. They were booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Information Technology Act for running a fake call centre from the Morjim beach village in North Goa, a police spokesman said.

    “The main accused duo Digvijay Rajput and Krunal Sharma had set up this fake call centre and employed some people. They used to obtain personal details of citizens of the USA through illegal means,” he said.

    Explaining the modus operandi, he said the accused used computers and virtual private network to contact their victims through the interactive voice response system.

    “They used to impersonate officers of the Social Security Administration and Law Enforcement Authority of the US,” he added.

    “The accused used to tell their potential targets that they had committed illegal acts like fraud or defaulted on paying tax and used to ask money to settle the matter. The gang was accepting payment through electronic currency and used to withdraw the money in Indian currency,” the spokesman said. Further investigation is underway.

  • AAP launches campaign over lack of jobs in Goa

    By PTI

    PANAJI: The Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday started a campaign against unemployment in Goa and asked people to not vote for parties that have failed to provide jobs.

    Launching the campaign, AAP national spokesperson Raghav Chadha said the biggest issue impacting youth of Goa was a job crisis and the Pramod Sawant government had failed to address it.

    In March this year, Goa reported the third highest unemployment rate in the country at 21.1 per cent, a 6 per cent increase in six months, Chadha said.

    “The only people in Goa who get jobs are relatives and friends of politicians.

    Ordinary Goans who are qualified are unable to get jobs unless they beg in front of their MLAs,” the AAP leader claimed.

  • Love, betrayal and murder: Three held for killing newborns in Goa

    By PTI

    BHAWANLPATNA: Two newborns were killed and their bodies buried in Goa allegedly by a 36-year-old man from Odisha, who maintained intimate relationships with two women promising to tie the knot with them, despite being married, the police said on Saturday.

    Tripal Naik and the two women – all residents of Odisha’s Kalahandi district – have been arrested on several charges, including murder of the two babies over the past two months, Superintendent of Police Saravana Vivek M told reporters.

    The two women, aged 30 and 22, used to work as labourers at the construction site of a building in Goa, where Naik was also an employee, the police said in a statement.

    The man apparently told them that he was a bachelor and proposed to keep them as wives, it said.

    In June, the 30-year-old woman gave birth to a male child.

    Naik, who insisted on delivery of the baby at home, along with the other woman, strangled the newborn to death, according to the police.

    When the 22-year-old woman, who was also pregnant, gave birth to a male child the following month, she panicked as they had to return to their village and she was still unmarried, the release stated.

    The two then killed the one-day-old child.

    Naik had buried both the bodies in a jungle.

    Finding no other way, the 30-year-old woman remained silent, the statement said.

    After a few days, Naik disclosed that he was married and suggested that the two women go their separate ways, it said.

    On July 4, they returned to Kalahandi district, following which Naik left for his village.

    Days later, on July 26, Naik visited the 22-year-old’s village and abducted her with the false assurance of marriage, the police said.

    The woman’s family members brought her back along with Naik from the Brahamaniguda jungle and informed the Golamunda police station, following which the duo was arrested on July 30, it said.

    After interrogation, Naik was taken to Goa, where the police exhumed the dead bodies on August 5 and seized the pickaxe used by the suspect for digging a pit.

    The post-mortem was done the next day, the release said.

    The 30-year-old woman was arrested on Friday as she remained silent despite knowing everything and helped the accused in disposing of the dead bodies.

    A case has been registered under various Indian Penal Code sections, including 302 (murder) and 376 (rape), the police said.

  • Navy cancels I-Day flag hoisting on Goa island as locals object; CM requests it to go ahead with programme

    By PTI

    PANAJI: The Navy has said that it has cancelled its plan to unfurl the national flag on Sao Jacinto island in South Goa on the Independence Day after local residents objected to it, following which state Chief Minister Pramod Sawant requested the naval authorities to go ahead with the tricolour hoisting programme and warned the islanders that “anti-India activities” would be dealt with an “iron fist”.

    Sawant said it was “unfortunate and shameful” that some people on the island were objecting to the hoisting of the flag, and added that he his government would not tolerate such acts.

    As a part of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ to commemorate 75 years of Independence, the Ministry of Defence has planned unfurling of the national flag on islands across the nation between August 13 and 15, officials have said.

    A spokesperson of the Navy’s INS Hansa base in Goa had said on Friday that a team from Goa Naval Area visited islands of Goa including Sao Jacinto island as part of this pan-India initiative.

    “However, the plan at Jacinto island had to be cancelled as the same was objected to by the residents,” he said.

    The island is located near Vasco town in South Goa district of the coastal state.

    The naval official said that the nationwide ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ initiative has been undertaken to instill a sense of patriotism and celebrate the run up to the 75th year of Independence.

    Reacting to the Navy’s announcement of cancelling the flag-hoisting programme, CM Sawant said on Twitter late on Friday evening, “It is unfortunate and shameful that some individuals at St. Jacinto Island have objected to Hoisting of the National Flag by the Indian Navy on the occasion of India’s Independence Day. I condemn this and want to state on record that my Government will not tolerate any such acts.”

    “I have requested the Indian Navy to go ahead with their original plan and have assured full cooperation from Goa Police. These attempts of Anti-India activities shall be dealt with an iron fist. It will always be Nation First,” he added.

  • Goa: Former AAP leader Elvis Gomes joins Congress

    By PTI

    PANAJI: Former Goa AAP convener Elvis Gomes on Sunday joined the Congress in the presence of the state unit chief Girish Chodankar and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Digambar Kamat.

    Gomes, a former bureaucrat, said the Congress was the only party that understood Goans.

    Chodankar said more leaders from AAP and other outfits would join the Congress in the days to come.

    Assembly polls are scheduled in the state in early 2022.

  • Former Goa BJP legislator Mahadev Naik joins AAP

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:  Ahead of the next year’s election in Goa, former BJP legislator Mahadev Naik joined the AAP on Friday. Naik, who served as the Social Welfare Minister in the Manohar Parrikar government from 2012 to 2017, is a known face in Goa. Other than being a seasoned politician in Goa, he has been an active part of the community initiatives undertaken by the Bhandari Samaj.

    “The BJP government in Goa does nothing for the people. Unemployment has increased in Goa. Under Arvind Kejriwal’s vision, we have to work on how we can improve the future of Goan youths. In the coming times, Goa will have an AAP government and I have no doubt about that,” said Naik.

    The AAP is trying to make inroads in Goa where it made debut in the 2017 elections. It has taken the stand of being the ‘alternative’ option for the electorate instead of the the Congress and the ruling BJP. The AAP has announced that it will provide 300 units of free electricity if it comes to power in Goa.

    Senior AAP leaders Satyendar Jain and Atishi welcomed Naik to the party fold at the party office. AAP’s Goa convenor Rahul Mhambre was also present at the event. Later, Kejriwal also welcoming Naik into the party. “We will work together to serve the people of Goa and give them a better quality of life,” he tweeted.

  • Goa misses July 31 deadline to give first COVID-19 vaccine dose to all

    By PTI
    PANAJI: The July 31 deadline to complete administering the first COVID-19 vaccine dose to all eligible beneficiaries in Goa has been missed as only 87 per cent of the target has been met, a senior official said on Sunday.

    The July 31 deadline was set by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant with the aim of getting the state prepared to tackle a possible third wave of the infection.

    “Now, 87 per cent of the eligible population of Goa has been given the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Currently, 23 per cent of beneficiaries have got both doses,” State Vaccination Officer Dr Rajendra Borkar told reporters.

    Independent MLA Rohan Khaunte attacked the Sawant government for missing the deadline and said the BJP was more interested in “trampling democracy” than fighting the pandemic.

     

  • Two opposition MLAs indulged in rowdy behaviour in Assembly: Goa CM Pramod Sawant

    Sawant posted a video of some Opposition MLAs throwing hats of marshals in the Assembly and also a book towards Speaker Rajesh Patnekar.The Goa Assembly has 40 MLAs.