Man Held for Red Beacon Abuse

Anjuna police on Monday arrested five persons from Delhi and Haryana, including Bhavesh Yadav, son of former Haryana MP Rajesh Yadav, who was posing as a minister from Delhi. The arrested, aged between 24 and 30 years, were travelling in two SUVs, one of which was fitted with a red beacon. They have told the police that they were using the red beacon to facilitate their entry into the high-profile electronic dance music (EDM) festivals and other joints in North Goa.

They were caught on Monday at 3pm when a team of police officials, including Mapusa DySP Serafin Dias and the PIs of Anjuna and Pernem police stations, were doing the rounds of Anjuna-Vagator. Dias thought something was amiss with the vehicle with the red beacon, spotted at Vozrant in Vagator, as all the occupants were youngsters. The vehicle, along with its ‘tail’, was stopped and the identity of all the occupants was inquired. As they were unable to produce evidence and documents to support the use of the red beacon, they were detained and brought to the Anjuna police station.

Police have attached both the vehicles-HR 05 AB 0005, fitted with the red beacon, and, HR 26 BR 0022, being used by the ‘bodyguards’ of the ‘minister’. Police have also recovered a revolver case belt and a walkie-talkie from Yadav’s vehicle. All five-Yadav, 26, Yetendra Rao, 30, and Sidharth Singh, 27, all residents of Delhi, and drivers Gautam Rathod, 25, and Hariom Khowa, 24, both natives of Haryana-have been booked under IPC Sections 419 and 420 (cheating).

The Supreme Court in a recent judgment slammed the blatant misuse of red beacons and had directed the government to revise their usage. On being questioned, the youngsters revealed that they were using the red beacon to facilitate their entry to their destinations without any hurdles. They were produced before a court and given one-day remand. Further investigations are in progress.

Denisha Sahadevan