TRIBAL COMMUNITY AGREES TO TAKE CUSTODY OF DEAD BODIES

PANJIM: Five days after two tribals were killed in violence in Balli village over the demand for implementation of reservation in government jobs, the community members on Monday agreed to take custody of the dead bodies.  Prakash Velip, president of United Tribals Associations Alliance (UTAA), which is spearheading the agitation in the state, told reporters that the funeral of the bodies will be held in the evening.

Earlier, the postmortem on both the bodies was conducted at Goa Medical College and hospital here.  Two protesters Manguesh Gaonkar and Dilip Velip were burnt alive allegedly by a mob at a cashew factory in Balli village on May 25 following the violence over tribals' demand for implementing reservation in government jobs in the state among others.

The tribals refused to take possession of the bodies demanding immediate arrest of the accused.  Hundreds of tribals, who had gathered at Azad Maidan in Panjim today, demanded suspension of Superintendent of Police Atmaram Deshpande, who had claimed that tribals went berserk after consuming alcohol on the day of agitation.

Deshpande had said in a press note that 'many of the people in the crowd were drunk while some were about to get drunk'.

Meanwhile, the tribals also expressed anguish over Chief Minister Digambar Kamat not obliging his commitments of suspending South Goa collector Gokuldas Naik, launching a judicial probe into the violence and that of arresting the culprits behind the killings.

"Nothing has happened (since the CM's assurance on Saturday). Police enquiry is going at such a slow pace that they have not arrested anyone," Velip told reporters adding that UTAA will decide its future course of action only after conducting funeral of the bodies. – PTI