The Goa government has authorised the district magistrates of both of its districts to exercise powers under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) for three months, citing “prevailing circumstances” in the state.
An order issued by the Under Secretary (Home-1), Department of Home (General), Manthan Manoj Naik on November 5, stated: “In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (3) of section 3 of the National Security Act, 1980, the Government of Goa, having regard to the circumstances prevailing in North Goa and South Goa districts of the state of Goa is satisfied that it is necessary so to do, hereby directs that during a period of three months from the date of commencement of this order, the District Magistrates of North Goa and South Goa may also exercise the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 3, of the said Act within the local limits of their jurisdiction, if he/she is satisfied…”
The order shall come into force on the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.
The Indian Express exclusively reported on September 26 that Goa Police had written to the state government urging that district magistrates (DMs) be authorised to exercise powers under the stringent National Security Act (NSA). In a letter written to the state’s Home Department in September, police said that under the “prevailing circumstances, it is felt necessary” that DMs of the two districts be “authorised to exercise powers under section 3 (2) of the National Security Act for a specified period in order to prevent activities prejudicial to the maintenance of public order”.
The letter further said that since August 1, 2025, several offenders have been taken into custody under sections of preventive arrest and produced in front of sub-divisional magistrates, but “these measures are proving insufficient to neutralise repeat offenders and organised elements, who are likely to act in a manner prejudicial to the maintenance of public order”.
The police missive was sent a week after an activist, Rama Kankonkar, was assaulted, allegedly by at least seven people in Caranzalem near Panaji. The assailants, armed with chains and a knife, thrashed Kankonkar and smeared cow dung on his face.
The incident led to protests, with the Opposition and activists terming the assault an attempt to “muzzle independent voices” and alleging a “collapse of law and order” in Goa.
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In its proposal to the government, the Goa Police cited past criminal records of habitual offenders, including data of people arrested under preventive measures in recent months and the fact that several accused arrested in the activist’s assault case were history-sheeters. The police had also cited the need for externment of certain repeat offenders and history-sheeters in its communique.
