log on to thegoan.net @thegoanonline THURSDAY NOVEMBER 6, 2025 GOA With CCP polls looming, two-decades old Panaji 'market scam' remains unresolved IN SHORT >> Site engineer booked over labourer death VASCO: Verna police have registered a case against a site engineer after a labourer fell to his death from an under-construction building at Sancoale, injuring a minor girl on the ground floor. Police said the incident occurred on November 3 when the site engineer, identified as Avinash Magadum, allegedly failed to provide adequate safety measures to labourers working at the site.  >> See pg 2 Renovated Ravindra Bhavan opened MARGAO: After a five-month break, the Pai Tiatrist hall and the Black Box of Margao’s Ravindra Bhavan reopened on Wednesday, with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant saying the renovation and repair work has cost the exchequer Rs 2 crore.  >> See pg 2 2 IRBians suspended in firing case PANAJI: Two constables of the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB), Rishikesh Mahale and Gangaram Mahale, have been suspended from service following their arrest in the alleged Ugvem–Pernem firing incident linked to illegal sand mining.  >> See pg 3 Public inputs sought for Coop Policy PANAJI: The State government appointed panel to formulate the Goa State Cooperation Policy 2025, has invited suggestions and views from the public for framing of the policy with focus on strengthening the cooperative movement in the State.   >> See pg 5 6 women run over by train in UP MIRZAPUR, UP: Six women on their way for Kartik Purnima Snan were run over by a passing train at Chunar Railway Station in Uttar Pradesh’s Mirzapur district on Wednesday after they got down from the wrong side of another train and tried to cross the tracks. >> See pg 7 WEATHER >> Max: Min: Humidity: 27 C 23 C 72% TIDES Low: 04:41 16:47 High: 10:12 23:53 The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) 13 pages PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME XI, NO. 139 Instagram.com/thegoanonline RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 3 2 Morjim tragedy: Senior citizen beaten to death 'Mhaje Ghar' scheme takes centre stage in BJP's political strategy ahead of polls >PAGE P3 Facebook.com/thegoan GOA Traffic dept writes to PWD for urgent remedial measures INFO Why not to consume curd at night RELATIVES LINK MURDER TO LAND DISPUTE; REFUSE TO ACCEPT BODY UNTIL ARRESTS; 14 WORKERS DETAINED THE GOAN I NETWORK PERNEM In a shocking incident, a 63-year-old man was allegedly beaten to death in Varcha Wada, Morjim, on Wednesday afternoon. Insisting that Umakant Khot of Varcha Wada in Morjim was murdered in connection with a land dispute and construction activity, family members have refused to accept the body till the accused are arrested. Police later detained 14 workers in this connection. According to reports, Umakant Khot would regularly go to inspect his tenanted property and had gone on a similar visit at about 1.30 pm on Wednesday. Relatives claimed that Khot had complained to authorities about land-filling activity on his tenanted property. The relatives said Khot is suspected to have confronted some persons at the site and he was severely assaulted in the process. He was later taken to the Tuem Hospital, where he was declared dead. WHAT HAPPENED Police officials visit the crime site at Varcha Wada, Morjim, to investigate the incident. Speaking to media persons, relatives said they would not take possession of the body until the accused are arrested in the connection. “Khot had been claiming that the landlord had sold the land without taking him into confidence and construction activity had been underway by workers at the site. He had also filed complaints in this connection, but no action had been taken in the matter,” said a relative. Mandrem police registered a case and detained 14 work- ers as part of investigations into the death of Khot. Relatives mentioned that a number of non-Goans have been buying up property in Morjim and were involved in construction activity. They claimed that many bouncers have been stationed at these construction sites and target those opposing the construction activity. The relatives believe that Khot may have been beaten to death for confronting those engaged in the construction activity. The killing of Khot has „„Umakant Khot regularly inspected his tenanted property; visited site around 1:30 pm Wednesday „„He had complained about land-filling activity „„Allegedly confronted some workers at the site and was severely assaulted „„Taken to Tuem Hospital, where he was declared dead shocked the community in Morjim, with many claiming that this was the first time in the history of the coastal village that a senior citizen had been murdered over a land dispute. Later, North Goa SP Rahul Gupta, DySP Salim Sheikh and Police Inspector Virendra Naik visited the crime site and took stock of police investigations. “Investigations are underway. The picture will become clear after the post-mortem report and the accused will be caught,” SP Gupta told media. 10 PATNA The stage is set for the crucial first phase of the assembly elections in Bihar on Thursday, as 3.75 crore voters will decide the electoral fate of 1,314 candidates, including top leaders such as INDIA bloc's chief ministerial face Tejashwi Yadav and Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary of the BJP. Yadav aims at a hat-trick in Raghopur, while his principal challenger Satish Kumar of the BJP had defeated his mother Rabri Devi in 2010 while contesting on a JD(U) symbol. The seat was expected to witness a high-voltage contest, with Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor declaring that he wanted to take on Yadav on his home turf. However, Kishor decided not to contest, and his party gave a ticket to a less fancied candidate Chanchal Singh. >Continued on P5 13 Shirgao and Cudnem begin operations; total active leases now five, combined capacity hits 5.3 MT THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI Goa’s iron ore mining industry has received a major boost with two additional mineral blocks — Shirgao and Cudnem — resuming operations from the new mining season in October, taking the total number of active mining leases to five. According to Director of Mines and Geology (DMG) Narayan Gad, operations have commenced at the Shirgao mineral block operated by M/s Rajaram Bandekar Mines Pvt Ltd, and the Cudnem Mineral Block (VI) managed by JSW Steel Limited. The State has received Rs 400 crore incentive from the Union Mines Ministry for operationalising two mineral blocks in the current financial year. The resumption adds to a growing list of functioning mines since the restart of mining activities in 2024. Vedanta Limited was the first to begin fresh extraction from its Bicholim mineral block in April 2024, followed by Fomento Resources at the Advalpal-Tivim block in December the same year. In May 2025, M/s Salgaocar Shipping Pvt ON PAGE 3 Govt plans to e-auction 10 dumps in Jan 2026 PANAJI: Nearly a year after scrapping its first attempt at e-auctioning iron ore dumps, the Goa government has announced fresh plans to auction ten low-grade ore dumps on January 8 and 9, 2026. These dumps located across North and South Goa, together account for an estimated 22 million metric tonnes of material. Director of Mines and Geology (DMG) Narayan Gad informed that out of 26 identified dumps lying on private lands without payment of conversion fees by former leaseholders, ten have been shortlisted for e-auction in the first phase. “Nine of these are situated in Sanguem and Dharbandora talukas, while one is in Honda village of Sattari, North Goa,” Gad said. 5 dumps with 60 mn MT ore reserve allotted to erstwhile leaseholders Ltd began operations at the Shirgao-Mayem block, marking another milestone in the sector’s revival. “The combined annual extraction capacity of these five operational mineral blocks stands at 5.3 million metric tonnes (MT),” Gad said, noting that the Supreme Court has capped total annual iron ore production in the State at 20 million tonnes. Since 2023, the State gov- ernment has e-auctioned 12 mineral blocks covering 24 mining leases, underlining its push for transparent and regulated mining. Meanwhile, several auctioned blocks are yet to commence production. These include Cudnem-Cormolem, Surla-Sonshi, Tivim-Pirna, Kalay (Sanguem), Monte-de-Sirigao, Curpem-Sulcorna, Onda, and Codli mineral blocks. Property sale ad barring Goans triggers outrage TEJASHWI, SAMRAT, PANDEY AMONG TOP NAMES IN FRAY In adjoining Mahua, Yadav's estranged elder brother Tej Pratap, who has floated his own outfit Janshakti Janata Dal, is locked in a multi-cornered contest. The elder son of RJD president Lalu Prasad seeks to wrest the seat from sitting RJD MLA Mukesh Raushan, though the presence of Sanjay Singh, the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) candidate who represents the NDA, and Independent Ashma Parveen, the runner-up of 2020, has queered the pitch. Several ministers in the Nitish Kumar government, including Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, will also have their electoral fates decided in the first phase of polls. Sinha hopes to retain Lakhisarai for the fourth consecutive term, surmounting the not-so-formidable challenge Fit-again Pant makes Test comeback for South Africa series Mining sector gets a boost, 2 more blocks resume Ops Phase-1 of Bihar polls begins today PTI SPORTS CITIZENS HIT OUT AT EXCLUSION; EXPERTS WARN OF LEGAL BREACH THE GOAN I NETWORK RIYADH RUMBLE: FC Goa’s Borja Herrera dazzles past Al Nassr players during their AFC Champions League 2 match at Al Awwal Park in Riyadh on Wednesday. The much-anticipated match proved anticlimactic as Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo gave it a miss, not even featuring on the bench. LED boards flash ‘Pak Zindabad’ in North Goa; nine arrested THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI LED display boards flashing the slogan “Pakistan Zindabad” in North Goa’s coastal belt set off alarm and outrage among the locals, prompting swift police action. The Calangute and Anjuna police booked nine persons for displaying seditious and anti-national message, amounting to propaganda against the nation. Details shared by the police with the media revealed that in the incident occurred at Whiskey Pedia, a wine store at Arpora, the scrolling slogan appeared on the LED board on Monday night prompting FIR. Ranchit Bhatia and Vipin Pahuja, both from Haryana; Vinay Chandra Rao and Krishna Lamani, both from Karnataka; and Manoj Kumar from Bihar were booked for >Continued on P5 PANAJI A controversial online real estate advertisement for a 1,200 square metres of land which includes a 'Portuguese house' apparently located in South Goa has ignited a firestorm of criticism across social media platforms because it explicitly excludes Goans from purchasing the property. The listing on the 'South Goa rentals" Facebook page reads: "1200 sqmt land with Portuguese house available for sale at Majorda belonging to a Delhi family. Genuine clients write. Strictly No Goans." The listing quickly went viral for its discriminatory clause. This exclusionary language has drawn widespread condemnation from citizens, activists, and public figures alike. Social media users were A viral Facebook listing for a Majorda property that explicitly bars Goans from buying. quick to denounce the ad as “blatantly discriminatory” and “deeply offensive”, with many calling for legal action and regulatory scrutiny. Prominent Goan artist from Benaulim Victor Hugo Gomes, owner and curator of the famed Goa Chitra museum expressed concern over this growing trend of cultural erasure and exclusion through the booming real >Continued on P5 Brazilian model among 25 lakh Accidents dip, but Goa’s roads remain deadly fake voters in Haryana: Rahul THE STATS: CAUSE FOR CONCERN Two-wheelers remain vulnerable; THE GOAN I NETWORK CLAIMS MASS VOTE MANIPULATION, VERDICT WAS ‘STOLEN’; EC, BJP SAY CHARGES ARE BASELESS PTI NEW DELHI The 2024 Haryana assembly polls were “stolen”, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged on Wednesday, citing electoral roll data to claim that 25 lakh entries were fake and the Election Commission colluded with the BJP to ensure its victory. The 'centralised plan' included a Brazilian model whose photograph was used 22 times in 10 booths in the Rai assembly constituency using names such as “Seema, Sweety and Saraswati” for her, the former Congress president said at a press conference during which he put up a presentation “The H-files” to back his claim. The BJP dismissed the allegation of mass vote theft as “false and baseless” and accused the Congress leader of raising questions on the Election Commission to hide his failures and defame the country's democracy. If there is any irregularity with the voting, then one must flag it with the EC or approach the court, said BJP's Kiren Rijiju. “But he never does it,” the minister said. Election Commission officials also trashed the allegation as unfounded, saying no appeals were filed against the electoral rolls in Haryana. >Continued on P5 PANAJI espite a slight dip in the number of road accidents this year, Goa’s roads remain no less deadly, with nearly 1,942 crashes recorded between January and November 3, many of them attributed to overspeeding, drunken driving, and rash or negligent driving. Official data from the Goa Traffic Police reveals that between January and October 2025, the State recorded 205 fatal accidents resulting in 212 deaths, marginally lower than the 229 fatal crashes and 241 deaths recorded in the same period last year. The number of grievous D Accidents (Jan–Nov 3, 2025): 1,942 Fatal accidents/ deaths (Jan–Oct): 205/212 Grievous crashes: 189 (151 in 2024) Nov 1–3: 17 crashes, 2 deaths Challans (Jan–Oct 2025): 14,506 overspeeding/ 3,361 DUI accidents, however, has risen, from 151 last year to 189 this year, indicating that while collisions may be fewer, their severity remains a serious concern. In the first three days of this month itself, Goa saw around 17 accidents and two deaths. Traffic officials say they continue to grapple with three persistent factors behind road crashes – overspeeding, driving under the influence of alcohol and rash and negligent driving. “Much of the drunken driving is reported along the coastal belt and on highways at night. However, fatigue >Continued on P5 many crashes are self-accidents PANAJI: Two-wheelers continue to account for a significant share of Goa’s road casualties, and officials say a large number of these accidents are preventable. Although a drop, the first 10 months of this year saw a total of 123 two-wheeler accidents and 25 deaths, compared with 138 accidents and 36 deaths last year. Police say over half of these are single-vehicle, self-accidents, and largely preventable. “At least 50 per cent of two-wheeler accidents are self-accidents involving a single vehicle. These could be avoided. Rash driving, wrong overtaking and dangerous turning are leading to these crashes,” a traffic officer said. While helmet-less riding was earlier among the major contributors to fatal injuries, officials reveal helmet compliance has improved this year due to sustained checks and penalties.