The Old Goa Police led by Inspector Satish Padwalkar must be commended for swiftly cracking that Merces hit-and-run case which snuffed away the life of a 39 year old on the early morning of 8th April. The accused who has now been nabbed is a Navy staff member who was gambling his luck at a Casino in Porvorim that night and was on his way back to Vasco possibly driving under the influence of alcohol.
We have a lot of good and smart Police personnel but unfortunately their brains and investigative skills are in the custody of the politicians whose line they have to tow. It is time to ensure the Police function diligently as a professionally competent body and not as mere agents of the political party in power. This will ensure a halt to the rapid increase in crime and will save lives.
The police need to investigate every crime diligently without fear or favour. It is imperative that the criminal trial of every accused must be speedy as justice delayed is justice denied and the punishment must fit the crime.
While the law requires that the Police should be insulated from any political interference and be independent in its functioning, the factual ground reality is that our Police across Goa lack freedom in discharging their duties while having to bow down to the dictates and directives of the Politicians.
Politicians and police personnel must always remember that their core duty is to protect the public by detecting and preventing crime and the police have the legal powers to execute it. Bad or politically motivated policing erodes public confidence in law enforcement which makes the job of good police officers difficult.
