In unusual move, Goa South SP Sunita Sawant transferred via wireless message

PANAJI: The Goa government on Monday transferred out South Goa district superintendent of police (SP) Sunita Sawant via a late night wireless message, prompting the Congress to allege that the move was linked to her direction to collect information about Bajrang Dal activities in the state.

The wireless message on January 27 asked her to relinquish charge and report to police headquarters with immediate effect. Sawant, a Goa Police Service officer, was appointed South Goa SP in February 2024, She has been replaced by Tikam Singh Verma, a SP-rank Indian Police Service officer who also holds charge of the state’s Anti Narcotics Unit.

Her transfer was unusual because it was conveyed via a wireless message and also because she was shunted out after completing less than a year in the job.

The Congress on Wednesday linked her transfer to her order to probe the Bajrang Dal.

“The moment SP Sunita Sawant began collecting information about Bajrang Dal leaders in Goa, the government panicked and immediately transferred her. This clearly shows that BJP is not interested in governance but in shielding its ideological allies and suppressing officers who perform their duty with integrity,” Goa Congress president Amit Patkar said.

He said that the police was being “manipulated to serve the BJP’s political interests instead of upholding the law.”

“This is nothing but an act of intimidation against an honest officer who was merely doing her job. The BJP government has once again exposed itself as an enabler of lawlessness, ensuring that no action is taken against fringe elements that threaten Goa’s communal harmony,” he added.

When contacted, Director General of Police (DGP) Alok Kumar said the transfer of an SP-rank official is executed by the state government. “I don’t want to comment anything on it as transfers of Superintendent of Police rank officials are done by the government,” he said, according to PTI.

Giriraj Pai Vernekar, spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Goa unit, said the decision was taken by the state government and it said it would not be appropriate for the party to comment on the matter.

Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant, who also has the state home department portfolio, did not comment on the government’s decision. “I’ve not received the details. I’ll tell you once I have them,” he told local news outlets.

Goa Bajrang Dal convenor Viraj Desai said he did not have any information about the SP’s transfer or about the police seeking any details about his organisation’s activists.

“Bajrang Dal is active in nation building. We have been holding several orientation programmes for the youngsters. We have no idea why the SP was transferred,” he said, according to PTI.