Mandrem cop mired in ‘VIP treatment’ row among 50 PIs transferred

Panaji: Goa police on Thursday transferred PI Sherif Jaques of the Mandrem police station, which had been entangled in controversy. TOI had reported how Mandrem police provided “VIP treatment” to a Delhiite who ran over a local woman with his car at Mandrem in Feb.
A police inquiry found lapses on the part of the Mandrem PI. Jacques was transferred to the Mormugao police station.
Goa police issued a transfer order for 50 PIs, of whom eight were transferred from police stations, and the rest are from the side branches. There are a total of 31 police stations in the north and south districts — 14 in North Goa and 17 in South Goa.
State govt appointed SP Sunita Sawant as the SP of the anti-narcotics cell.
TOI had reported that it may be one of the first cases in Goa police’s history when, within a few hours, the investigation of a murder case was completed, and the Delhi man, 23-year-old Deepan Rajeev Batra, was sent to judicial custody.
Goa police arrested Batra after he ran over Maria Joao Fernandes with his four-wheeler following an argument over taking a dog for a walk. Fernandes succumbed to her injuries later.
But before Goa police could bask in glory, the “VIP treatment” for Batra — after he was taken into police custody — stoked a furore among Mandrem locals.
A tense situation unfolded at the Mandrem police station after residents gathered outside when they noticed that Batra was being taken in a private car with the air conditioner on.
The locals forced police to take Batra out of the private car into the police station. A PSI told the locals that as there was only one police vehicle, which was taken by the Mandrem PI, they were shifting Batra to the Pernem police station lock-up in a private vehicle.
A day after TOI reported about police’s “VIP treatment”, DGP Alok Kumar ordered an inquiry into the matter.
North Goa SP Akshat Kaushal, who conducted the inquiry, said that “certain lapses” were noted on the part of the staff of the Mandrem police station. Disciplinary action has been launched, Kaushal said.