Two Goan ministers in police's 'goonda list'

     Panaji, Oct 24 (IANS) Two cabinet ministers in the Congress-led coalition government in Goa figure in a list of bad characters and proclaimed offenders compiled by the state police, a newspaper report said Friday.

     An exclusive report in Sunaparant, Goa's only Konkani daily, claims that Education Minister Atanasio Monserrate and Urban Development Minister Joaquim Alemao figure in the 'goonda list' (list of known criminals) of the state police.

     The newspaper, which has reproduced a scanned image of the list dated 2000, also reports that Rudolf Fernandes, son of Congress legislator Victoria Fernandes has been listed as a goonda in the list, which was put together in 2000 by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Goa Police.

     The story says that the list of criminals was compiled by the police due to "an increasing trend in crime, noticed during the year (2000)".

     "As such a need was felt to update the concerned, with information on goondas, history sheeters and bad characters so as to take necessary preventive measures and keep them under surveillance," reads an excerpt from a covering letter signed by then Superintendent of Police (CID) I.D. Shukla.

     The report claims that in response to an RTI (right to information) query asking the police to furnish the last two updated lists of criminals compiled by them, the two district superintendents Bosco George (North) and Shekhar Prabhudessai (South), have claimed in writing that "no such information was available with them".

     When IANS contacted Goa Inspector General of Police Kishen Kumar, he refused to comment on the issue.

     "You talk to concerned SPs. I will not talk on this. The media is going overboard," said Kumar.

     Speaking to this correspondent Friday, Chief Minister Digambar Kamat did not deny the existence of the goonda list. "It must have been done when I was not the chief minister," he said.

     Atanasio alias Babush Monserrate, the father of Rohit, the main accused in the rape of a 14-year-old German girl a couple of weeks ago, has also been involved in various criminal offences in the past.

     Earlier this year, the United Goans Democratic Party (UGDP) legislator led a mob and attacked Panaji police station, and also manhandled the policemen on duty.

     Incidentally, the list also names Aires Rodrigues, the counsel for the German girl's mother who has accused Rohit and Alemao's nephew of raping her daughter.

     Alemao is the brother of former chief minister Churchill Alemao, and was earlier detained by the Goa Police under the National Security Act.

     Indo-Asian News Service

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