Supporters ensure tiatr staged

MARGAO: ‘Akantwadi Goem Naka’ (Goa doesn’t need terrorists) staged its premier show to a packed house, amid high drama and heavy police presence inside and outside the Gomant Vidya Niketan, Margao, on Saturday. It almost didn’t get staged.
Around 11am, producer-director Tousif de Navelim told Margao police that he had received fresh threats, with the caller threatening to murder his family and burn the hall if the tiatr was staged.The tiatr has drawn the ire of right-wing group Sriram Sena that had sought a ban and even a court stay on the same.
Fearing for his life and the safety of others, Tousif informed the police and the management of the auditorium that he was calling off the show. He also sent back his artists, the props and backdrops.
As news soon spread that Tousif had cancelled the show, a crowd of supporters and friends from Navelim and Fatorda, and from Margao itself, in a show of strength, rushed to the Margao police station. There they insisted that Tousif go ahead with the show, as cancelling it would amount to a victory for the Sriram Sena.
The Sena’s attempt through a court to stop the show received a setback earlier in the day as Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) P Shinde reserved his judgment on their plea for a stay.
As the crowd began to swell outside the police station, DySP Mohan Naik, PI Sudesh Naik and Tousif went to the auditorium where the bomb disposal squad carried out a search of the premises.
Tousif agreed to the crowd’s demand and the show was scheduled for 5pm—before it was cancelled it had been scheduled for 3.30pm. Members of the crowd then began hurling abuses at the present BJP government.
Kennedy Afonso of ‘Goans for Goa’, who was part of the crowd, told STOI that the issue was no longer about the tiatr alone, but about not giving into the demands of the right-wing group and about the freedom of expression. Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai and Curtorim MLA Reginaldo Lourenco also reached the site.
The tiatr finally started close to 6pm, as all ticket holders were screened through a metal detector. The police also filmed the entire tiatr, which was held with only some artists and no scenery sets as they had been sent back when the show was cancelled. Tiatrists Anil Kumar, Teotino D’Costa and comedian Netto were part of the play. Tousif told the audience that the next show will be staged at Ravindra Bhavan, Margao, on August 17.
There was no tension after the show and no one from the Sena was seen around the auditorium either. Tousif told the police that the threatening call had come from a four-digit number that he suspected was a voice-over-IP service such as Skype.