Goan rhapsody continues…..

When asked to name a police station of his preference, he said that Verna in south Goa would be his choice. His wife was in the family way and required looking after. As the Verna police station was close to his residence, he would get time to devote to her care.

Orders were issued transferring the officer to Verna. I thought I had resolved the issue in the best way possible, but I was in for another surprise. When the officer reported for duty, the MLA of Verna would not allow him to take charge of the police station as he had been posted to the MLA’s constituency without consulting him. After all, which politician would want an upright and honest officer, who would not be at his beck and call, to be posted to his area? This infuriated me. I was prepared to go to the CM to take up the issue. Meanwhile, I learnt that the officer had assumed charge at Verna and all was well. Much later, I was informed that the officer-in-charge had realized that it would be a pointless exercise on his part to again take up cudgels against an egotistical politician. He had called on the MLA from Verna and told him to let him know if he could do anything to serve his constituency better. His ego well massaged, the politician did not create any further trouble for the officer.

As I was learning the ropes of my new job, I came to know that rave parties were common in Goa, where the sale  and consumption of narcotic drugs were widely practised alongside other illegal activities. There existed a close-knit community of drug addicts and peddlers, who were most active during the holiday season. They shared details of the venues and times of such parties with each other openly. They had no fear of law enforcement agencies and brazenly distributed leaflets or pasted notices with the details of these parties.

To be continued….