Goa

Panaji, Mar 8 (PTI) The state-run Goa Meat Complex Limited will outsource its abattoir operations to a private player for a period of five years starting June 1 this year, its managing director Rajendra Prabhugaonkar said Friday.

He said the GMCL, set up in 1971 in North Goa's Usgao village to cater to the beef requirement in the coastal state, was shut since October, 2014 due to technical issues and lack of animals for slaughter.

Panaji, Mar 6 (PTI) An Israeli national, who has been booked in narcotics cases in Goa, was injured in an attack by a group of people at the Anjuna beach near here, police said Wednesday.

The incident took place Tuesday night and the Israeli, David Driham, has lodged a complaint, they said.

The Anjuna police said Driham, in his complaint filed in the wee hours of Wednesday, accused a local businessman and people associated with him of assaulting him.

Panaji, Mar 3 (PTI) Ailing Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar is suffering from an advanced-stage cancer, senior state cabinet minister Vijai Sardesai said here Sunday.

Sardesai, who heads BJP ally Goa Forward Party, is the second member of the cabinet after health minister Vishwajit Rane to talk about the exact nature of Parrikar's illness.

While it is known that the chief minister, who has been in and out of hospitals since February 2018, is suffering from a pancreatic ailment, his office has not provided any specific information about the illness so far.

Panaji, Jan 30 (PTI) With the intention of making tourist hot-spots nuisance-free, the Goa government introduced a bill Wednesday which bans drinking and cooking in open spaces including on the beaches.

Tourism minister Manohar Ajgaonkar introduced the legislation in the Legislative Assembly.

The bill provides for a fine of Rs 2,000 for an individual and Rs 10,000 for a group of persons for violation of the law.

Panaji, Jan 16 (PTI) Harassment by the police was one of the reasons fewer tourists visit Goa for ringing in the New Year, state Tourism Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar said Wednesday.

The police should go after drug racketeers and not target "innocent tourists", he said.

"There are several reasons why tourism has gone down.

One of them is the harassment meted out to innocent tourists by the police department in Goa," Ajgaonkar told reporters.

He was speaking to reporters after chairing a meeting of MLAs to discuss the Draft Tourism Policy 2018.

Panaji, Jan 5 (PTI) A 22-year-old man was arrested Friday from south Goa after a 15-year-old girl accused him of repeated rape over the last six months at the residence of her relative, police said Saturday.

The victim was staying with her maternal aunt in Canacona village since her parents got separated a few months ago, when she came into contact with the accused, identified as Samir Velip, they said.

According to police, Velip allegedly used to rape the girl at the house of her maternal aunt.

New Delhi, Dec 31 (PTI) The closure of mining activities in Goa has amounted to a loss of large number of jobs, Parliament was informed Monday.

"Government of Goa has intimated that the closure of mining activities has resulted in loss of large number of jobs," Mines Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

Panaji, Dec 10 (PTI) A 24-year-old man arrested in a gang-rape case in Goa escaped from police custody here Monday when he was brought to a hospital for medical treatment, police said.

Ishwar Makwana, who hails from Indore in Madhya Pradesh, was arrested by the Goa Police along with two other men from MP in May this year for allegedly raping a 20-year-old woman at a beach in South Goa district.

He was lodged at the Central Jail at Colvale in North Goa district since then.

Panaji, Dec 8 (PTI) A Russian couple was arrested Saturday for allegedly cultivating cannabis inside their rented apartment in Goa, police said.

Cannabis plants, drugs and other items worth Rs 15 lakh were seized from the couple's residential apartment located in the beach village of Anjuna in North Goa, they said.

Anjuna Police Inspector C L Patil said the Russian couple, Viacheslar Terekhin and Anna Asharova (both 38), were arrested under the Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Act.

Panaji, Dec 5 (PTI) A 50-year-old man has been booked for allegedly raping a minor girl in Goa, police said.

The accused, a Goa resident who has been working abroad, left India soon after committing the offence in October, Margao Police Inspector Kapil Nayak said on Tuesday.

The 14-year-old girl was raped repeatedly between October 15 and 20 by the accused residing in her neighbourhood at Sirlim village in South Goa district, he said.