Panaji, June 25 : Congress leader Amarnath Panajikar on Sunday alleged Goa government’s Home department has barred senior police officers from interacting with the media on crime cases, “murdering” freedom of press.
Referring to a circular issued by the Director General of Police (DGP) Jaspal Singh, which has reportedly barred senior police officers from interacting with the media on policing matters, Panajikar said that this is an “attempt to hide the crime record”.
“In recent years, Goa is witnessing a law and order problem, which has collapsed with murders, robberies and cases of attacks on tourists taking place. Home department, which is handled by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, is trying to hide crime cases by restraining the media. This is murder of democracy,” Panajikar, chairman of the Media Department, said.
“Government first tried to suppress the voice of the public and now it is trying to stifle the media. This has proved that the BJP government can’t face the media and hence is trying to obstruct them everywhere,” he said.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi never dares to face the media, because they have no answers to their wrongdoings. Same strategies are now applied in Goa, where officers are told to remain mum. This is not democracy,” he said.
He said that the home department has “failed” to upload FIRs on their websites within 24 hours as directed by the Supreme Court.
“Dadagiri of the BJP government is such that it doesn’t obey the Apex court. We strongly condemn the actions of the BJP government, which is trying to strangle the media,” he said. “We demand that the Home Department should immediately revoke the circular or give responsibility of PRO to IPS officer Nidhin Valsan, who is media friendly and not to one who doesn’t answer phone calls,” Panjikar demanded.
