log on to thegoan.net @thegoanonline SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2025 GOA Facebook.com/thegoan The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) 14 pages PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME XI, NO. 79 2 After missed timelines, Margao wholesale fish market set for Sept 20 launch 3 GOA GIDC begins dispensing SEZ land, GSL to buy Sancoale land Instagram.com/thegoanonline RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 11 INFO Ginger for dark spots and acne scars SPORTS Messi casts doubt on 2026 World Cup appearance 14 ED EXPOSES MULTI-CRORE Parents’ statement recorded, viscera LAND SCAM IN BARDEZ kept for analysis BITS PILANI STUDENT’S DEATH page 8 Unruly Goan youth disrupt Goa Day festival in Ireland Documentary on acclaimed Goan artist to be screened in Lisbon IN SHORT >> 38 junior scale officer posts up for grabs THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI: The Goa Public Service Commission (GPSC) has announced recruitment for 38 vacancies of Junior Scale Officer under the Goa Civil Service. Interested candidates can submit their applications online until September 19, 2025. Of the 38 posts, 11 are reserved for OBC candidates, five for EWS, six for ST, and 16 remain unreserved. In addition, one post has been earmarked for Children of Freedom Fighters, while three are reserved for Persons with Disabilities. 2-day Goa trip turns dreadful for Guj adv PANAJI: A brief two-day trip to Goa, ostensibly for a Reiki healing of his bouts of depression, turned into a nightmare for a top Gujarat lawyer from Ahmedabad. Lured by a woman who worked in his law chamber offering Reiki treatment, the lawyer came to Goa on a twoday trip where she secretly filmed him in compromising positions.  >> See pg 3 Potholed road claims life of 25-year-old MAPUSA: The poor condition of Goa’s roads has claimed yet another young life. A 25-year-old architect from Tivim, originally from Sanghvi-Pune, died in a self-accident at Cunchelim-Mapusa early on Friday. The deceased, identified as Sameer Uday Naik, was riding a motorcycle from Siolim towards Cunchelim via Marna around 1 am on September 5.   >> See pg 2 Huge cache of seized drugs destroyed PANAJI: The Anti-Narcotic Task Force of Goa Police on Friday destroyed 26.71 kgs of narcotics at the IDC Kundaim incinerator. The drugs, seized across 11 cases, were destroyed after completion of trial proceedings. The NDPS drug disposal committee, headed by DIG Varsha Sharma had conducted a detailed inspection of the seized narcotics. >> See pg 5 WEATHER >> Max: Min: Humidity: 29.7 C 24.5 C 96% TIDES Low: 00.37 High: 08.39 15 PRIME PLOTS WORTH CRORES OF RUPEES ATTACHED OVER FORGED GENEALOGIES, FRAUDULENT WILLS 14.27 18.23 MAPUSA In yet another blow to Goa’s murky land dealings, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached 15 properties in Bardez taluka after investigators uncovered a trail of forged wills, fabricated genealogical records and manipulated inventory proceedings used to usurp prime parcels of land. The attachments, ordered under Section 5(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, cover six properties in Revora, three each in Anjuna and Mapusa and one each in Nadora, Camurlim and Parra. According to a public notice issued by the Deputy Director of ED’s Functional UnitII, Panaji, the probe revealed that accused persons systematically grabbed land by creating fictitious heirs and forging family records, leaving the genuine owners or their descendants untraced till date. The attached properties are DETAILS OF PROPERTIES „„ANJUNA: Survey Nos 76/13, 76/39 and 16/13, listed in the names of Anton Francis D’Souza, Paul D’Souza, Ciriaco Pedro D’Souza and Antonio Franciso D’Souza (as per Form I & XIV). „„MAPUSA: Survey Nos 62/2, 62/3 and 62/7, recorded in the names of late Domingos Casmiro worth several crores in today’s market. But investigators say the land was “stolen on paper” through manipulated inventory proceedings, creating fictitious successors to quietly transfer ownership before selling the parcels to unsuspecting buyers or powerful interests. “This is not just a family dispute gone wrong. It is sys- D’Souza and Domingo Cajmiro D’Souza. „„REVORA: Survey Nos 47/7, 47/8, 47/10, 47/11, 46/26 and 63/19, listed under the names of Cajmir D’Souza, Anthony D’Souza, Teoton D’Souza, Antoni D’Souza, Jusefina D’Cruz, Simao Benjamin Silveira, Alex Alexin, Anton Joao D’Souza and others. temic land laundering, designed to convert black money into legal assets,” said a senior official, pointing out that Bardez’s coastal belt, with its skyrocketing land values, has become the epicentre of such frauds. Trail of ghost owners The ED’s notice lays bare how multiple properties Sawant slams teacher quality in unaided primary schools SEEKS PARENTS’ COOPERATION IN PROMOTING GOVT-RUN MARATHI AND KONKANI SCHOOLS THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI Taking serious note of parents’ growing preference for English-medium unaided primary schools for their kids, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant expressed apprehension with regards to quality of education in unaided primary schools stating that their teachers are neither well-qualified nor trained. Speaking at the 63rd Teachers’ Day celebration at Kala Academy, Sawant urged parents to support government-run Marathi and Konkani schools, stressing that primary education in mother tongue can provide equally strong career opportunities. “They (teachers) might be good at speaking English but I don’t think they are well qualified or trained,” he said. Acknowledging the growing trend for English-medium unaided schools, Sawant assured parents that government-run Marathi and Konkani schools have got one of the best infrastructure and welltrained English teachers. Hedgewar headmaster bags National Teachers’ Award PANAJI: Vilas Ramnath Satarkar, Headmaster of Dr K B Hedgewar High School in Cujira-Bambolim, was on Friday honoured with the prestigious National Teachers' Award. The award was conferred by the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, during National Teachers’ Day celebration in New Delhi. Satarkar’s exceptional contributions to education and dedication to nurturing students won him the prestigious award. Satarkar started his teaching profession as an assistant teacher at the school in 1996 and grew to hold the office of the headmaster from 2002 onwards. Sawant, who also holds the Education portfolio, pointed to the recent Union Education Ministry’s figure highlighting more number of students in 141 unaided schools than over 700 government and government aided schools in the State. “I can vouch, compared to unaided schools, our government schools have got one of the best infrastructure, facili- ties and well-trained teachers, who are trained to upgrade their skills as per current educational need. At primary level, we have one subject in English. Even experts are of the opinion that children who opt for mother tongue as Medium of Instruction at primary level, their future goal and concept is clear,” he said.   >Continued on P5 „„NADORA: Survey No 46/3, shown in the name of Francis D’Souza. „„CAMURLIM: Survey No 129/5, in the name of Ditosa Agnelo Lobo alias Ditosa Lobo. „„PARRA: Survey No 210/10, listed under the names of Walter D’Costa, Bela Souza, Domnik D’Souza, Anton D’Souza. were shown in the names of long-deceased individuals or those untraceable for decades – from Domingos Casmiro D’Souza in Mapusa to Ditosa Agnelo Lobo in Camurlim. In Revora alone, six survey numbers were fraudulently acquired using forged genealogical charts, with names of >Continued on P5 THE GOAN I NETWORK ED's procedure mirrors 'bona vacantia' law PANAJI: The process adopted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to deal with several parcels of land it has attached related to money-laundering probes it has launched in connection with cases of the land-grab scam in a way mirrors the quasi-judicial processes envisaged in a new law for State take-over of inter-state land which has no known heirs. The Goa Escheats and Bona Vacantia Act, 2024, rules under which were notified in June is on the cusp of being implemented but the ED action which calls for heirs to claim their rights related to some 15 parcels of land in Bardez, Anjuna and Revora gives a >Continued on P5 VASCO Verna police have recorded the statements of parents in connection with the death of 20-year-old student Rishi Nair in his hostel room at the BITS Pilani Goa campus on Thursday morning. A police source informed that the autopsy has been completed at the South Goa District Hospital, but the final opinion on the cause of death has been reserved. “The cause of death has been reserved, pending reports of tissues preserved for histopathological examination, viscera for chemical analysis, and blood for microbiological culture. However, there are signs of aspiration pneumonitis and severe gastritis. No foul play has been detected as of now,” the source said. A case of unnatural death under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) has been registered and the body was later handed over to the family members for final rites. It may be recalled that Nair, a second-year MSc Physics student, was found dead in his hostel room on Thursday The cause of death has been reserved, pending reports of tissues preserved for histopathological examination, viscera for chemical analysis, and blood for microbiological culture morning. According to sources the student was not an original student of BITS Pilani Goa campus and had arrived based on a transfer request from the BITS Pilani Hyderabad campus. He may have been facing some issues pertaining to depression and his parents had requested for a transfer of college from BITS Pilani Hyderabad to BITS Pilani Goa campus. The incident has drawn widespread concern as it arks the fifth student death reported on the BITS Pilani Goa campus in less than a year. In December 2024, second-year BE Computer Science and MSc Chemistry student, Om Priyan Singh, died by suicide. Just three months later, in March 2025, Atharv Desai, a third-year dual-degree student, also ended his life. Trump: Looks like we lost India, Russia to ‘darkest’ China PTI WASHINGTON It looks like the US has lost India and Russia to “darkest” China, President Donald Trump said on Friday in his latest remarks as ties between New Delhi and Washington continue to reel under possibly the worst phase in over two decades. Trump's latest post on social media came days after the bonhomie among Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the Chinese city of Tianjin drew global attention. “Looks like we have lost India and Russia to deepest, darkest China. May they have a long and prosperous future together!” the US president said on Truth Social. The relations between New Delhi and Washington are on a downturn after Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to a whopping 50 per cent, including a 25 per cent additional duties for India's purchase of Russian crude oil. The additional tariff has already come into effect from >> See pg 10 August 27.  PROCESSION OF FAITH: Hundreds of devotees join the Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi procession in Panaji, commemorating the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad. The day was observed with devotion and grandeur across the State.  Narayan Pissurlenkar Eco-tourism push at waterfalls; alcohol bottles, plastic banned THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI To safeguard Goa’s sanctuaries and promote eco-friendly tourism, Goa Forest Development Corporation (GFDC) announced a strict ban on alcohol bottles and plastic at waterfalls across the State. Speaking to media persons, GFDC Chairperson Deviya Rane said that bag checks will be carried out at sites, and fines will be imposed on violators. Garbage bins and plastic pickers have also been deployed to ensure cleanliness. “In order to preserve our sanctuaries and forests, we must encourage responsible tourism. Alcohol and plastic at waterfalls are a serious threat to the environment and will not be tolerated,” Rane said. Rane clarified that there are no restrictions on visiting waterfalls in Goa. She assured visitors that the Goa Forest Development Corporation >Continued on P5 Authorities ‘woke up from slumber’: FROM VAPES TO E-CIGARETTES TO NICOTINE POUCHES… Educators sound alarm on nicotine devices in schools Court on Arambol encroachments THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The High Court of Bombay at Goa has remarked that authorities appear to have ‘woken up from their slumber’ in acting against unauthorized and illegal constructions in Arambol. While disposing of a suo motu Public Interest Litigation, the Division Bench of Justice Bharati Dangre and Justice Nivedita Mehta said the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) and the Village HC directed panchayats not to issue No Objection Certificates to occupants of structures lacking occupancy certificates, and that demolitions of illegal buildings must be carried out promptly with assistance from the government Panchayat of Arambol must decide all pending showcause notices within six months. “We are of the clear view that once we have taken cognisance of the menace of unauthorised structures in the village and pursuant thereto, we find that the authorities have sprung into action, we need not wait for every stage of demolition to be accomplished...the authorities have woken up from slumber and are moving ahead and, according to us, in the right direction,” the Court observed while accepting the status reports submitted. >Continued on P5 PTI NEW DELHI ducators, school principals and health experts raised an alarm over the rising threat of new-age nicotine devices such as vapes, e-cigarettes, nicotine pouches and heated tobacco products (HTPs) invading schools. The experts asserted that as the availability of such devices is not getting curbed despite a lot of efforts, behavioural change is critical to understanding and intervening accordingly. Children must be E C A M PUS CR I SI S: W H AT E D UC ATO RS FEEL „„Availability of such devices is not getting curbed despite a lot of efforts „„Behavioural change is critical to understanding and intervening accordingly „„Children must be equipped to say ‘no’ through awareness, peer support and strong parental and teacher guidance „„Combating growing threat requires collective and sustained action across the ecosystem, from students and parents to teachers and policymakers „„It is important to notice early warning signs among students equipped to say “no” through awareness, peer support and strong parental and teacher guidance, they suggested. Gathering at a national conference on Teachers Day, they came together with a united call to action and pledged to “Stop the Entry of Novel Nico- tine Products in Schools”. “We already have a law, the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act (PECA), 2019, but stricter enforcement is needed since products like e-cigarettes are widely available online. A recent study revealed that 35.6 per cent of online sellers are still flouting the ban. “Despite TOFEI (Tobacco-Free Educational Institution) guidelines being in place, teachers tell us that students continue accessing these products online with ease,” said A Srija, Economic Advisor, Ministry of Education.