Police remained mute spectators as two tribal leaders were burnt alive by a mob in Balli, 60 kms away from here, during the tribal agitation, a magisterial inquiry report into the incident has said.
The report, which was submitted to the Goa chief secretary on Thursday night, has castigated the police department for intelligence failure.
Magistrate Mihir Vardhan, who penned the report, has said that the police force was not enough to handle the crowd of tribals on May 25. But the police officers remained mute spectators as the local mob threw two leaders alive into a fire to avenge the tribal agitation, he said in the report.
The agitation by Gaonkar and Velip tribals at Balli pressing for their demands, including implementation of reservation in government jobs, had turned violent as the protesters who had blocked National Highway 17 were cane charged by the police.
A mob of locals, who retaliated, had allegedly burnt alive two leaders - Manguesh Gaonkar and Dilip Velip.
United Tribal Association Alliance (UTAA), that led the agitation, had alleged that their leaders were murdered in the presence of police, a claim which was flatly refuted by Goa police spokesperson Atmaram Deshpande.
But the magisterial inquiry has stated that both the leaders were murdered in the presence of police officers. The report also said that the attack on UTAA activists was a planned conspiracy.
UTAA had also claimed that the police used cane charge when the crowd was dispersing peacefully after the government had assured to fulfil their demands.
The magistrate’s report has claimed that there was downright failure of police intelligence that resulted in the chaos. Mr. Vardhan has said that since there was no proper intelligence, the police presence was thin.
Mr. Deshpande, who heads a special branch, had earlier claimed that the Balli incident did not occur due to police intelligence failure. He had said that police did not expect the crowd to get violent.
The report has also pointed out faults in the UTAA leaders and accused tribal activists of damaging public property and also of attacking the policemen.
Superintendent of Police Tony Rodrigues, who was heading the force, was seriously injured when a pelted stone broke his jaw.
Chief Minister Digambar Kamat had earlier said that the State chief secretary has written to the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court asking to depute a judge for inquiry.
