In criminal trials the witnesses usually fear to speak the truth. It is going to be all the more challenging in the infamous 2008 Panjim Police Station attack case with the main accused being currently a Minister in the government while most witnesses being police officials. The fear of revenge and retribution would loom large.

 

That a lawmaker chose to be a lawbreaker on that evening of 19th February 2008 left a very ugly scar on Goa which may never fade away. That attack on the Police Station was a very serious crime against the State. It was the first of its kind and may not be the last if the perpetrator of that vicious crime is not brought to book.

 

Faith and trust in our democracy and in the rule of law would continue to erode if those accused of such nasty crimes do not feel the full force of the law. External interference in whatever form in the judicial process must be stamped out to ensure fairness, to protect the witnesses and to ensure that vital evidence is not suppressed. 

 

Goa’s Director General of Police should reassure all his staff that they would not be harassed with vengeance for standing by the truth. May God give every witness in this case the strength and conscience to speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth without fear or favour while deposing in Court. Justice must be done and be seen to be done! No one is above the law regardless of his or her status!

 

Hope that every witness will be guided and empowered by those words of Haile Selassie, the late Emperor of Ethiopia who said "Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted, the indifference of those who should have known better, the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most, that has made it possible for evil to triumph".