Panaji: The opposition parties on Friday demanded the suspension of Superintendent of Police (Crime Branch) Rahul Gupta after an accused managed to escape from custody along with a constable, who was on duty to guard him.
Siddiquie Suleman Khan (55), arrested after being on the run for four and a half years, fled from the Crime Branch’s custody here on Friday around 2:30 a.m. with the help of a constable, who also fled with him on the bike.
Reacting to the incident, AAP Goa President Amit Palekar demanded that SP Crime (Rahul Gupta, IPS) be suspended immediately.
Palekar tweeted: “Imagine a land-grab accused who was arrested with the great efforts of honest officers, walks out of the custody of @Goa_Police, takes a ride on a constable’s bike, and escapes, while SP Crime Branch and the CB, busy with political witch-hunts, are in deep slumber. This is the state of Goa Police today. Is this great escape stage-managed? @DGP_Goa @spnorthgoa. You guys are happy to issue Press Notes otherwise, but why are you quiet now? SP Crime should be suspended immediately.”
Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao said that police collusion with criminals has become a threat to law and order.
Alemao wrote on his social media page: “Public trust in @Goa_Police has eroded significantly. Police are working like agents and protectors of criminals. From Hafta Vasuli to engaging robbers in house-breaking, police collusion with criminals has become a threat to law and order. Action is needed in this new case.”
Goa Pradesh Congress Committee President Amit Patkar has also demanded the resignation of SP Crime over his failure to prevent the escape.
Patkar wrote: “A land-grabbing accused escapes from the Crime Branch on a bike with the help of an IRB constable— this is not just negligence; it’s state-sponsored lawlessness under @BJP4Goa.”
“Who is protecting these criminals? Why is @DGP_Goa silent? Is @DrPramodPSawant’s govt complicit? The corrupt @BJPGoa govt is all out to sell Goa’s land. The SP Crime must resign for this brazen failure. Goa deserves accountability, not the circus of corruption and collusion,” he added.
