A spurt in crime in recent weeks has turned the heat on the ruling BJP government and police in Goa, with three murders in the last week alone becoming a political flashpoint.
Amid growing law-and-order concerns, the Goa government Wednesday authorised district magistrates (DMs) to exercise powers under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) for three months, citing “prevailing circumstances”.
The order came over a month after the police wrote to the state’s Home Department urging that DMs be empowered under the NSA, saying that while many offenders had been arrested, the measures were proving “insufficient to neutralise repeat offenders and organised elements, who are likely to act in a manner prejudicial to the maintenance of public order”.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant Thursday appeared to blame the rise in some crimes on migrants.
“I think if we look at the increasing incidents and analyse the reasons for the rise in such incidents… if we see thefts and illegalities… we will find that migrants are involved in a maximum of these cases,” he said.
Sawant urged people to get tenant verification done before renting out houses or shops. “If someone comes to you asking for a room, first get the tenant verification done. Let the police do the verification because we don’t know antecedents of those seeking houses on rent,” he said.
Three murders were reported in the past week. Last Friday, a 19-year-old man from Uttar Pradesh was allegedly killed by the owner of a rented car and his two friends after they suspected he was fleeing with the rented SUV. Police have arrested five people.
Story continues below this ad
In another case, a 63-year-old tenant was allegedly murdered Wednesday by the owner of an under-construction property, its supervisor, a JCB operator and a cook over a property dispute in Morjim. The victim’s family alleged he was killed for opposing hill-cutting on an adjoining plot. Police have arrested three accused, while the property owner is absconding.
On Thursday, Goan businessman Richard D’Mello — brother of the Trinamool Congress national spokesperson and Goa media coordinator Trajano D’Mello— and his employee were found murdered, with their throats slit, in a rented room in Saligao. Police said the suspect, also an employee, is absconding.
Two labourers were shot on October 28 in an alleged dispute over illegal sand extraction in Pernem. Police have arrested five people, including two constables, and seven others for extracting sand from the Terekhol river without permission.
Last month, six armed robbers allegedly broke into a doctor’s house in Mapusa, tied up the occupants for over two hours and fled with jewellery, cash and a car. The accused are yet to be arrested. In September, activist Rama Kankonkar was assaulted by at least seven people near Panaji, sparking protests across the capital.
Story continues below this ad
BJP state president Damu Naik Thursday blamed the Congress. “What was sown by Congress over the last 60 years, the fruit of that…is now showing up. Our government has been there in Goa only since 2012. So, what you are seeing is not the result of what happened only over the last 10 years or so,” Naik said.
Opposition parties hit out at the BJP government, alleging total collapse of law and order. AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal said on X: “Murders, shooting, daylight robbery. What is happening in Goa? This is a total collapse of law and order in Goa under BJP. Just in the last few days, a Goan opposing hill cutting gets murdered; citizens are shot at over illegal sand extraction; a youth is beaten inside a police station; people are killed in Saligao in a pool of blood”.
Goa Congress leader Amarnath Panjikar said that instead of taking accountability, “BJP leaders come up with excuses that insult the intelligence of every Goan”.
“Blaming the Congress for crimes after more than a decade of BJP rule shows how insecure and desperate the BJP has become,” he said.
Story continues below this ad
Responding to Kejriwal, the BJP’s Goa unit posted on X: “Stop talking about our state without knowing facts. You ruined Delhi when you were in power. Now you’re trying to destroy Punjab… Fix these problems… Stop wasting time commenting on our state.”
Police said there has a 32 percent decline in crime against women, 9 percent decline in assault cases, 20 percent decline in theft cases and 29 percent decline in snatching in 2025, as compared to the previous year
Goa DGP Alok Kumar said, “The data and recent crime statistics do not suggest there is a rise in crime, especially the street crime. The crime detection rates are high. In recent cases, we have made several arrests and taken preventive action. Police visibility has been increased across the state.”
