log on to thegoan.net @thegoanonline SATURDAY JUNE 29, 2024 page 6 Goans revel in festivities in Swindon Aiming to unite communities, build stronger Swindon: Shaikh IN SHORT >> CM warns farmers, links schemes to stray cattle hazard PANAJI: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has warned that government schemes of farmers would be discontinued if their cattle bought under these schemes are found roaming on the streets. He said the decision would help reduce road accidents due to stray cattle. Gaondongrim in grip of dengue CANACONA: With an alarming number of nearly 70 dengue cases reported in Gaondongrim and a few other cases in other parts of Canacona over the past 5 weeks, heath officials have been on their toes in relentless drives everyday to tackle the disease.  >> See pg 2 Rider killed in road mishap at Reis Magos PORVORIM: A scooter rider was killed after he was knocked down by a tourist bus near Canara Bank in Reis Magos on Friday. Sadanand K Surlikar of Betim was proceeding towards Reis Magos and while turning near Canara bank, was knocked down by a tourist bus. Mobile phone bills set to increase NEW DELHI: Bharti Airtel on Friday announced a 10-21 per cent hike in prepaid and postpaid mobile tariffs, a day after Reliance Jio announced an increase in rates. The move assumes significance, as it marks the first major increase in tariffs by the telecom industry, in two-and-ahalf years. UGC-NET exam from Aug 21 to Sept 4 >> See pg 7 WEATHER >> Max: 32.2 C Min: 24.4 C Humidity: 85% TIDES Low: High: 09:55 23:25 04:42 16:30 Facebook.com/thegoan The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) 13 pages PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME X, NO. 12 India faces South Africa in bid for T20 glory today Pg 13 RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 Assagao saga: DGP comes in line of fire Suspended Anjuna PI spills the beans on how DGP threatened & pressurised him THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The Assagao house demolition has escalated into a fullblown controversy with Goa’s highest-ranking police officer DGP Jaspal Singh now being accused by his own officer of conspiracy to bulldoze the house. Suspended Anjuna PI Prashal Desai’s statement to Chief Secretary Puneet Goel reveals how DGP Singh exerted pressure and threatened him to alter the case in favour of accused Pooja Sharma. “On June 22, I received a phone call from DGP Goa informing that the party of Pooja Sharma will come to Assagao and told (the Anjuna police) to help them,” the PI testified during the inquiry. He further recalled the house occupants Pradeep SDPOs supervised probe into land grab PANAJI: The issue surrounding the partially demolished house at Agassao was always known to the police even before a JCB was used last Saturday. A complaint of alleged land grabbing was filed by the accused Pooja Sharma wherein SDPOs Jivba Dalvi and Sandesh Chodankar supervised an inquiry as the SIT Land Grab transferred the case back to the police station, observing it did not warrant an SIT probe.  >> See pg 3 Agarwadekar and his family had informed the police they were inside the house with their belongings during the demolition. Police Sub-Inspector Sanket Pokhare -- also suspended along with PSI Nitin Naik -- ordered to stop the demolition, sought property documents and directed the excavator operator to bring the equipment to the police station. Amid all this, PI Desai received a call from Singh questioning why the demolition had halted. The report, a copy of which is submitted to the government and now in circulation, alleges that upon explaining the situation, DGP shouted at the PI insisting that demolition resume immediately. “DGP directed that anyone obstructing the process be re- Axis Bank mandate for salary of teachers makes comeback DoE issues circular to schools, institutions THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI In a back-and-forth over the last one year, the Directorate of Education has resurrected the proposal to credit salaries of teaching and non-teaching staff of aided  schools online and revived the move for all to open bank accounts with private player Axis Bank. In a circular issued on Friday (June 28) DoE Shailesh Zingde said: It has been noticed that most Schools/Institutions are yet to open their Salary Bank Account with the Axis Bank. It is therefore directed to open the Bank Account in the name of the School/Institution with the Axis Bank, at the earliest.” The circular is addressed to managers and heads of government aided primary, secondary and higher secondary schools. Zingde in the circular recalled a similar direction issued by him in April last year requesting all heads of the DoE CIRCULAR „„It has been noticed that most Schools/Institutions are yet to open their salary bank account with Axis Bank. It is therefore directed to open the bank account in the name of the school/institution with Axis Bank at the earliest aided institutions to open a bank account of their school/ institution with the Axis Bank. “The Honourable Chief Minister had proposed to implement online salary disbursal scheme ‘Mukhyamantri Guru Dakshina Yojna’,” the circular issued by Zingde said, adding that it was included in the State budget for 2023-24. Interestingly, the DoE had backtracked last year and withdrawn the proposal for online salary transfer to teaching and non-teaching staff through an app devel- oped by the Axis Bank.  A week after the circular was issued last year, the DoE issued another one saying the employees of aided institutions will be at liberty to maintain their existing bank accounts. “In continuation to the circular referred to above it is hereby clarified that the employees of grant-in-aid educational institutions may continue with their existing bank accounts,” Zingde had said in a subsequent missive a week ago after the original circular. In the original circular of April 19, 2023, Zingde had asked the managements of aided institutions to collect individual bank details of all their teaching and non-reaching staff so direct online transfers of the salary grant is enabled. “The processing of salary of employees of grant-in-aid schools will be totally online on the software developed by Axis Bank Ltd,” the circular had said. Costa elected prez of European Council ON former Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa was chosen to succeed the Belgian Charles Michel (in office since 2019) in the leadership of the European Council, in an appointment made by qualified majority (55% of the 27 member states, representing 65% of the total population). António Costa is the first 26 AGENCIES BRUSSELS Former Portuguese Prime Minister, António Costa, was elected by the heads of state and government of the European Union as President of the European Council for a two and a half year term. The decision was adopted at a meeting of the European Council in Brussels, in which the leaders of EU also proposed the name of Ursula von der Leyen for a second term as head of the European Commission, and nominated the Estonian Prime Minister, Kaja Kallas, as EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, subject to election by MEPs of the entire college of commissioners. After the resignation following judicial investigations, Instagram.com/thegoanonline JUN E Portuguese and the first Socialist at the helm of the European Council. Costa said in his acceptance speech that he will take up the post with a “great sense of mission”, committed to promoting unity between the 27 member States and the Strategic Agenda for the next five years. Writing on his social media account ‘X’, Costa said: “It is with a great sense of mission that I take on the responsibility of being the next President of the European Council. I thank the members of the European Council for the trust they have placed in me by electing me, as well as the Party of European Socialists (PES) and the Government of Portugal for their support in this decision”. The former secretary-general of the Socialist Party added that, as president of the European Council he will be “fully committed to promoting unity among the 27 member states and focused on implementing the Strategic Agenda, approved today and which will guide the European Union over the next five years”. moved and taken to the police station. DGP started shouting at me and told me that anyhow the work of the demolition of the house should be started. He also informed nobody was inside the house when the demolition work was going as he has personally verified the same,” quotes the report. Despite the pressure, Desai stated that Anjuna police did not forcibly remove the occupants and instead asked them to file a formal complaint. Two of the family members thereafter reached the police station to complete the formalities. Explaining the sequence of events, the PI claimed that a person identifying himself as Arshad Khawaja informed him that he was proceeding with the demolition ‘as per the inspection from the top office.’ Allegations are baseless: DGP THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI After a daylong uproar over the explosive revelation, Director General of Police Jaspal Singh finally broke his silence claiming the allegations against him are baseless.   “The allegations against me are baseless, invented and preposterous. If this were an officially shared document, I would certainly responded but I cannot react to speculative >Continued on P5 Khawaja mentioned that the PI might have received a phone call from a top officer and that he had received instructions to resume the work. Ashley Rodrigues, the owner of the excavator machine, Assagao lady breaks down amid intense media scrutiny MAPUSA: In a distressing encounter with media, complainant Prinsha Pradeep Agarwadekar broke down as journalists bombarded her with questions about the ongoing house demolition issue. The incident occurred at the Agarwadekar residence, where Prinsha, accompanied by her advocate, was addressing the press. Overwhelmed by the intense scrutiny and relentless questioning, Prinsha expressed her despair, saying, “Everyone is only blaming me,” before breaking down in tears. Her two daughters, who were present during the interaction, quickly intervened and escorted their mother away from the emotionally charged situation. The advocate, who was also addressing the journalists, at one point also grew visibly upset as the media continued to taunt him and the family with sarcastic questions. The tense atmosphere underscored the emotional toll the ongoing issue has taken on the Agarwadekar family. who had earlier instructed operator Pradeep Rana to stop the work, also told the police that Khawaja boasted of his contacts with top officials and assured him (Rodrigues) that he would manage everything on-site. In the meantime, the PI claimed he received another phone call from the DGP, directing that no one should >Continued on P5