The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Goa has launched a sharp attack on the BJP-led government following the brutal killing of Morjim resident Umakant Khot, who was allegedly murdered by a land mafia involved in illegal hill-cutting at Varchawada, Morjim.
In a memorandum submitted to the Mandrem Police Station on Wednesday, a delegation led by AAP Working President Valmiki Naik demanded the immediate arrest of the landowner and buyer of the disputed property where the illegal activities were taking place. The party alleged that the state administration has become a silent spectator while land mafias openly operate across Goa.
Valmiki Naik said that Goa is witnessing repeated breakdowns in law and order under the BJP government. “Today, Goans are being beaten to death while the government looks away. Umakant Khot was a legal tenant whose land was sold illegally. When he protested against the illegal hill-cutting, he was murdered. The culprits, including the landowner and buyer, must be arrested immediately,” Naik demanded.
AAP Mandrem leader Prasad Shahpurkar warned of a people’s protest if no action is taken. “We will lead a morcha with villagers to the police station if the main accused are not arrested soon. It’s shameful that someone defending Goa’s land was killed while the police failed to act,” he said.
Echoing similar concerns, AAP leader Sunil Signapurkar accused the local MLA of being more focused on “land dealings than people’s welfare.” He said, “The state has been handed over to land mafias who are looting Goa’s land and destroying villages with full political protection.”
Meanwhile, AAP leader Suvarna Harmalkar highlighted what she described as a “pattern of injustice” in Goa. “From Rama Kankonkar to Edberg Pereira and now Umakant Khot — the BJP government has repeatedly protected the powerful. Police delay action and try to dilute cases under political pressure,” she alleged.
AAP leaders expressed condolences to Umakant Khot’s family, demanding an impartial probe, suspension of complicit officials, and swift arrests of those behind the illegal land sale and hill-cutting.
“The murder of Umakant Khot is not an isolated case,” the AAP statement concluded, “it exposes how Goa is slipping into lawlessness under the BJP, where greed and political interference have replaced justice and humanity.”
