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Ruling, Opposition MLAs oppose ‘anti-minority’ Goa Film Festival

Published

10 years ago

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Goa Film Festival

Panaji: Four legislators, including a Christian MLA from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, have demanded that the Goa Film Festival be rescheduled for clashing with the Holy Week to be observed by Christians in the state.

The Christian community accounts for about 26 percent of the population of the state.

Opposition MLAs Reginaldo Lourenco (Congress), Vijai Sardesai, Rohan Khaunte (Independent) and Michael Lobo (BJP), at a press conference here on Wednesday said the actions of the Goa government were worrying for the minorities in the state by precipitating controversial issues.

“I am demanding that my government should reschedule the Goa Film Festival because it clashes with the Holy Week which is a time for mourning for Christians. It is not acceptable,” Lobo told reporters.

Lobo is one of the BJP’s six Christian MLAs in the 40-member state legislative assembly. The BJP-led coalition government also has the support of four other Christian MLAs who are either independents or from other regional political parties.

The Goa Film Festival organised by a state government-funded society is scheduled to be held from April 3-5.

The Holy Week, signifying a spell of reflection and penance for the Christian community, begins from Maundy Thursday (April 2) which commemorates Jesus’ last supper with his disciples; Good Friday (April 3), which honours the day of his crucifixion; and Holy Saturday (April 4), which focuses on the transition between the crucifixion and resurrection.

The Holy Week culminates with Easter Sunday.

Those opposing the timing of the festival claim that the BJP is mocking the minority community by asking them to enjoy a film festival when they are in mourning.

“Tomorrow we may even have Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar congratulate Goans on Good Friday, which is a day of mourning. This government is being consistently insensitive to minorities,” Sardesai said.

Congress MLA from Curtorim, Aleixo Reginaldo, said the government should apologise for the Film Festival decision which comes on the heels of a series of alleged anti-minority controversies which include beef shortage, efforts to observe Christmas holiday as Good Governance Day among others.

“These decisions are completely anti-minority. It shows the government has no concern for Goa’s Christians,” Lourenco said.

The chief executive officer of the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) Rajan Satardekar has claimed that the dates had been finalised months ago and it would be difficult to reschedule them. “It may be difficult to shift the dates this late,” the official told reporters.

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What monkey fled with a bag containing evidence in it: Read full story

Published

3 years ago

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May 5, 2022

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The court, generally, considers a person who commit a crime and the one who destroys the evidence, as criminals in the eyes of law. But what if an animal destroys the evidence of a crime committed by a human.

In a peculiar incident in Rajasthan, a monkey fled away with the evidence collected by the police in a murder case. The stolen evidence included the murder weapon (a blood-stained knife).

The incident came to light when the police appeared before the court and they had to provide the evidence in the hearing.

The hearing was about the crime which took place in September 2016, in which a person named Shashikant Sharma died at a primary health center under Chandwaji police station. After the body was found, the deceased’s relatives blocked the Jaipur-Delhi highway, demanding an inquiry into the matter.

Following the investigation, the police had arrested Rahul Kandera and Mohanlal Kandera, residents of Chandwaji in relation to the murder. But, when the time came to produce the evidence related to the case, it was found that the police had no evidence with them because a monkey had stolen it from them.

In the court, the police said that the knife, which was the primary evidence, was also taken by the monkey. The cops informed that the evidence of the case was kept in a bag, which was being taken to the court.

The evidence bag contained the knife and 15 other important evidences. However, due to the lack of space in the malkhana, a bag full of evidence was kept under a tree, which led to the incident.

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