Goa: 50-year-old man arrested in connection with desecration cases

Panaji: The Goa Police arrested a 50-year-old man on Friday night in connection with a series of cases of alleged desecration of Christian religious symbols in South Goa district. Francis Pereira was arrested by a team of special investigation officers from Curtorim village in South Goa, a senior police officer said. “The accused was planning to desecrate an idol in the village. But he tried to flee from the spot on seeing a police team,” he said. The police team nabbed him after a brief chase, he said. [caption id=“attachment_3456278” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AP[/caption] The police officer said, “During initial questioning, he admitted to having carried out the desecration of the religious symbols.” The Cross in at least 12 places and a temple have been vandalised in south Goa district since 1 July. The latest of such incidents was reported from Margao town on Friday. The opposition Congress had demanded a CBI inquiry into these incidents. Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar ruled out handing over the investigation to CBI, claiming that he had full faith in the state police.