Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji
Rupesh Samant
Panaji, Jul 4: The series of desecration of Holy Crosses that had baffled the state known for its sizeable Catholic population has came back haunting again. In the last two days, five Holy Crosses were desecrated in Salcette and Quepem taluka, a region dominated with the Christian population.
On July 1, citizens from three different villages woke up to the shock of finding three Holy Crosses being desecrated by the miscreants. Three religious places at Gudi, Chandor and Paroda which are in the Salcette and Quepem talukas.
One of the Crosses was vandalized in the recent past and was restored by the parishioners. It was attacked again. Three different complaints were filed in Quepem and Maina-Curtorim police stations.
Even as the police were groping in darkness over the cowardly incident, on July 2 night, two more Crosses one at Power House and another at Colmorod in Margao town were attacked.
Incidently, the same night, a temple at Calconda in Margao was also attacked and Nandi Statue was desecrated, indicating that a person or a gang was on the rampage in the night.
Deputy Inspector General of Police Rupinder Kumar said, "The police stations have been asked to form special teams to investigate these cases." He said patrolling around these places will be increased and also intelligence gathering would be intensified.
Desecration of the Crosses has not been new for the State of Goa which saw heated discussion on this topic in the year 2013 when BJP led government was ruling the state.
On October 15, 2013 during the State Legislative Assembly session, then Velim MLA Benjamin Silva had raised the issue on the floor of House through Calling Attention motion.
Silva had claimed "Police had failed to protect the churches and temples. Three statues were stolen, four found in broken condition, one armed chair meant for the Priest was found missing in St Joseph Chapel, Assolna."
If this was not enough, the legislator had also pointed out that "92 crosses were desecrated in Tolleacanto St Rock Church Cemetery." Silva had said that police intelligence had totally failed and therefore culprits were freely moving in Goa.
The then government had defended their stand claiming that police had arrested 46-year-old lady Levy Alfonso for desecrating 92 Crosses from the Cemetery. She was allegedly suffering from "undifferentiated schizophrenia" and was admitted in Institute of Psychiatry and Human Behaviour.
State police had then swung into action issuing security advisory to the religious places asking them to install CCTV cameras and post a security guard outside the religious places.