HC pulls up Goa govt, says remove Shivaji statue on MPA property

Panaji: Bombay high court on Tuesday slammed the state for its inaction in the “clear invasion of property of a major port”, and directed it provide the Mormugao Port Authority (MPA) all assistance, including armed security and issuing of prohibitory orders, to maintain public order to enable it to remove the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj that was erected illegally on its property in Feb.

The HC’s division bench of Justices Valmiki Menezes and Amit Jamsandekar directed the South Goa SP to be responsible for overseeing all security arrangements to implement its directions.

“...the state has acted as a mere bystander and has in fact tacitly colluded with the perpetrators of the invasion without offering any assistance to prevent the criminal trespass,” the high court observed.

It also noted “gross inaction” on the part of the Bogda police inspector, the executive magistrate of the Mormugao taluka, the Mormugao deputy collector and other authorities to prevent intrusion into the port property.
“We believe that where issues of law and order are involved such as the present one, it is only the state through its agencies such as the police force, executive magistrate and other such authorities, that can adequately quell such incidents and ensure public safety and property of individuals is preserved,” HC said.

It also directed that a notice to be issued to Mormugao MLA Sankalp Amonkar.

MPA, represented by advocates Yogesh Nadkarni, Simran Khadilkar, and Kunal Nadkarni, filed an application in HC alleging forceful entry into its land and the illegal erection of a permanent statue of Shivaji at a grand function in Feb. The authority alleged no action despite complaints.

The MPA wrote to the police seeking registration of an FIR, and the complaint named MLA Sankalp Amonkar, Mormugao municipality councillors Deepak Naik and Shradha Sankalp Amonkar, and Ravindra Bhavan chairperson Jayant Jadav, all part of the assembly, who criminally trespassed on the property of the port authority and unveiled the illegally erected statue.

“It is absolutely unbelievable that such a large gathering could have been allowed on the port land, and the forcible construction and unveiling of the statue on such land be held, without any knowledge of the police inspector of Mormugao or Bogda police station, the Vasco sub-divisional police officer, the Mormugao mamlatdar and SDM and both the South Goa superintendent of the police and collector,” HC observed.

“If this be so, there is a complete failure of the executive structure in South Goa district and in Mormugao taluka in relation to the incident. However, the incident points more to a glaring and tacit understanding or arrangements between the authorities referred above the local MLA, and other participants of the gathering on port property, with no action whatsoever, preventive or otherwise, being taken by the authorities to protect the invasion of the port property,” the HC added.