Sonia Gandhi briefed on L

Panaji, Mar 5: AICC President Sonia Gandhi was briefed on the current law and order situation in south Goa during her election tour in Kochi today even as no untoward incident had been reported in the trouble-torn areas with prohibitory orders in force.

Mr Shantaram Naik, MP and AICC secretary in-charge of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, had informed Ms Gandhi about the communal bouts in Goa.

The state government had also been in touch with her by posting her with recent developments.

Mr Naik told UNI from Kochi that she had been keeping track of the situation in Goa, and she was aware of the events that had triggered following the demolition of an illegal disputed religious structure three days ago that snowballed into communal violence.

Meanhile, two companies of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), drawn from Vasco-da-Gama city, had taken positions in the strife-torn Crochorem and Sanvardem areas of South Goa.

The two companies of Rapid Action Force (RAF) under Maharashtra's CRPF, now on the way from Mumbai, are likely to take positions by evening to assist the civil administration in maintaining law and order.

Chief Minister Pratapsinh Rane has been in constant touch with the top authorities and is monitoring the situation even as a round-the-clock control room has been set up at the new secretariat complex in Porvorim to liaise with different agencies including the Centre and the public.

The police would crack down on the miscreants once the additional police forces are deployed. Civil police force besides Goa's own RAF jawans have also been kept on duty since the trouble started on March one.

Mr Rane blamed the BJP for the communal violence, while the BJP opposition leader and his precedessor Manohar Parrikar turned the heat on the ''inefficient police apparatus'' resulting in breakdown of law and order in Goa.

UNI