Thaindian News

Panaji, June 15 (IANS) With no sign of the judicial probe promised by the Goa government into the killing of two tribal activists last month, tribal leaders claim that the police, who are investigating the deaths, are only harassing them.

The crime branch, which has been handed the probe into the murder of two tribals, Manguesh Gaonkar and Dilip Velip during a protest in May, was turning a blind eye to the killers, said Prakash Velip, convenor of the United Tribals Associations Alliance (UTAA), which has championed the cause of implementing tribal rights in the state.

“Crime branch officials are only rounding up tribals. That is all they have been doing. We were the victims. Our boys were murdered. But the killers are roaming scot-free in their village of Balli. Only one person has been arrested so far,” Velip said.

Goa tribals were on a protest demanding reservation in government jobs. During the protest near the village of Balli in south Goa, 45 kms from here, Manguesh and Dilip were bundled into a cashewnut storage godown nearby and the place was set on fire, allegedly by local toughs May 25. Both bodies were severely charred, one beyond recognition.

The Goa government had then appointed a magisterial inquiry into the incident, which squarely blamed the failure of police intelligence and inadequate action by the police for the deaths.

The police have since arrested Dipak Faldessai, who they claim had prevented the duo from exiting the godown, which had been set on fire.

Velip, however, claimed that the delay by the police in arresting the rest of the suspects was telling and that those at large were threatening witnesses to the killing.

“The delay is deliberate. The police knows where the accused persons are. Those who are at large are threatening the witnesses who were there on that day of the killing. This is why we wanted a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). We do not trust the police,” Velip said, even as the crime branch sought warrants for two other suspects, Narendra Faldesai and Prakash Faldesai.

Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat had ordered a judicial probe into the incident a fortnight ago on May 31 but there was no headway in the probe, Velip said.

“So what should we do? Watch with our own eyes as the local police destroy the evidence before the judicial probe takes over,” he asked.