IANS

Panaji, Mar 3: Goa's road border with Maharastra was left virtually unguarded and unmanned for nearly four hours Tuesday following a misinterpretation of the state poluce director general's order on "rationalisation of security".

Police personnel attached to the Pernem police station around 3 p.m. Tuesday vacated their positions at the Patradevi border post, 40 km from here, and dismantled the entire checkpost and the barriers on National Highway 17. Patradevi post borders Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district.

"We have received an order from the DGP (Bhimsen Bassi) today. It said that the checkpost was no longer required," a police official attached to the Pernem police station told IANS.

When contacted, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Ravindra Singh Yadav said the border police officials could have misinterpreted the DGP's order.

"DGP's order was a part of a rationalisation process of the state's border. We are doing away with the present system of checking every vehicle which comes in. The order instructed policemen to carry out random, surprise checks on incoming vehicles to improve effectiveness," Yadav said.

Admitting that the checkpost had been dismantled, Yadav also instructed the Pernem police officials to resume duty at the earliest.

"There could have been miscommunication regarding the order," Yadav said. The DGP's order was sent to all border police stations, which have checkposts in their jurisdiction.

Goa shares its border with Karnataka to the south and Maharashtra to the north. Both states account for five major border check points.

The Patradevi check post on NH 17 is considered sensitive because it is the shortest route to Mumbai and is known for the smuggling of narcotics substances to and from Goa.