Shocking as it may seem, for some, life is as cheap as a bottle of wine, especially when the life is not your own.
Indeed we are speaking of the incident in Cortalim where a friend was killed over a half-empty bottle of liquor after a party.
Alex Coutinho was arrested and became the first murder accused under the new criminal code Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). However, his friend, Lionel Lobo, is no more at just 32 years of age.
The fight between the two which ultimately led to Coutinho slamming a concrete block on Lobo's head killing him instantly was over a liquor bottle that the latter took away after a party a week ago.
How cheap can life get here in Goa, where many times alcohol is easier to find than drinking water!
Prashal Desai: Not-so-holy
hero of the Assagao fiasco
From the Agarwadekar family to the Calangute MLA Michael Lobo, all and sundry seem to be sympathising with the suspended Anjuna PI Prashal Desai in the part demolition saga of the Assagao house.
The whole melodrama took a twist when Prashal pointed an accusatory finger at the State's top cop, turning Director General of Police Jaspal Singh into the pantomime villain of the Assagao demolition tale.
But wait, is PI Prashal Desai really the saintly officer he's being made out to be? After all, we all know, don't we, how the residents along Anjuna’s coast complained incessantly about the notorious nightclubs blaring loud music into the wee hours while Prashal Desai and his merry band of law enforcers conveniently developed a sudden case of selective deafness.
The Assagao house demolition saga also underscores the well-oiled machinery of our police force, where orders trickle down from the top, whether right or wrong, and officers must comply or risk facing false charges under the NDPS, as PI Prashal Desai so dramatically alleged.
Poor Prashal, caught between a rock and a hard place, or as they say, the devil and the deep blue sea.
But, let's be honest, he could have spared us all the theatrics and just done the right thing. Imagine, Prashal as the true hero – our very own red riding hood! The worst he would have faced? A transfer order. Oh, the horror!
And so, in this grand circus of political maneuvering and law enforcement antics, the drama continues.
Perhaps next time, our protagonist will choose to rise above and become the hero we all want – though that might just be asking too much.
The tale of Mapusa's
tall, towering shed
If you have the power and the pelf, you can probably do anything. Maybe, even buy people off.
Just a month ago, a towering BJP politician from Mapusa was caught flat-footed, constructing a shed for a car company's workshop without bothering with those pesky things called "permissions."
The local civic body, usually as observant as a dozing sloth, was suddenly jolted into action. Apparently, some citizens with a misplaced sense of civic duty decided to teach our law-abiding politician a lesson. So, the civic body grudgingly issued a show-cause notice to the workshop proponents. How dare these citizens demand adherence to laws?
But when you have power and a rhinoceros-hide thick skin, you can change zoning laws like they're lines on a sketch pad. Soon enough, everyone, including journalists, were waltzing to our politician's tune.
Now, the civic body has given a thumbs up to the crematorium committee, which owns the land, to go ahead and build the shed. According to a little bird in the comunidade, the story isn't over yet. Stay tuned for the next thrilling episode of "The Workshop Chronicles."
Sometimes, better
sense does prevail
Panjimites started this week with not not-so-good a news. The North Goa Collector had just notified vast areas of the city's road network as 'pay-parking' zones raising the prospects of being taxed for parking vehicles almost everywhere in the city, even at times when paying last respects to a departed relative or friend as the roads around the cemetery and crematorium were included.
But good sense does prevail in the corridors of power sometimes. CCP Mayor, Rohit Monserrate, has confirmed that these areas -- around the cemetery and the crematorium -- will not be included for pay-parking when the tenders are floated and will continue to free for parking. Kudos!
