Activist beaten up brutally in Goa; 5 arrested

Panaji, Sep 18 (PTI) Five men were arrested by Panaji Police following a brutal assault on social activist Rama Kankonkar at Caranzalem near here on Thursday afternoon, a senior official said late at night.

A suspect was still absconding, said Superintendent of Police (North) Rahul Gupta.

A group of armed men punched and kicked him, smeared cow dung on his face and flung him onto the road near a children's park in the afternoon, Kankonkar told police.

The gang, armed with a knife and a gun, threatened him, saying, "Do you wish to be the protector of Goa? Let us show you," he said, adding that one of the attackers had targeted him in the past.

Superintendent Gupta said the accused allegedly threatened to kill Kankonkar and Quepem resident Soiru Velip who was accompanying him. Velip filed the complaint.

The motive behind the attack was yet to be ascertained, the police official said.

A First Information Report was registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 109 (attempt to murder) and 351(3) (criminal intimidation), and eight police teams comprising 31 personnel were formed to trace the accused, Gupta said.

"Based on CCTV footage and past crime records, all six accused were identified within three hours of the incident," he said.

A police team led by sub-inspector Nitin Naik traced Anthony Nadar (31) and Francis Nadar (28), both residents of St Cruz, from restaurants near the Dodamarg bus stand on Goa-Maharashtra border.

Following their interrogation, the police learnt that the remaining accused were planning to flee to Karnataka by train, Gupta said.

Suresh Naik (31), Minguel Araujo (24) and Manish Hadfadkar (24) were apprehended at Margao railway station later in the evening by a team headed by inspector Vijay Chodankar.

"All five arrested persons are history-sheeters," the SP said, adding that efforts are on to nab the sixth accused.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant strongly condemned the attack on the activist, and asserted such incidents will not be tolerated in the state.

"All the culprits would be arrested and punished," Sawant told reporters outside his official residence. PTI RPS RSY KRK