Goa's engineers forum demands ouster of Francisco Pacheco

Panaji, July 18 (UNI) More than 400 engineers of the Goa electricity department today launched a ''pen-down strike'' against the assault on a junior engineer allegedly by Agriculture Minister Francisco Xavier Pacheco at the latter's house in South Goa recently.

Engineers' forum leader Bharat Niglye told UNI that they had signed the attendence rolls but did not take work as part of their agitation.

The strike would continue till the government did not initiate suitable action against the Minister, who was also facing a police probe following a complaint lodged by impugned engineer - Kapil Natekar, Mr Niglye said.

The forum also sought the dismissal of the Minister from the Cabinet for his rude behaviour against a government servant and demanded that otherwise he himself should quit owning moral responsibility for the incident.

The forum would organise a massive rally tomorrow from the department headquarters to the Kadamba bus stand, and if the Government failed to concede the demands, they would intensify it further.

The engineers also met Chief Minister Pratapsinh Rane and the State Power Minister last evening and submitted a memorandum seeking arrest of Mr Pascheco for allegedly assaulting, threatening and abusing their colleague.

Meanwhile, the Minister has served a legal notice to the junior engineer, threatening to file a civil and criminal defamation case, if the latter did not apologise within 10 days, saying that he had only reprimanded him for not attending to the complaints of his constituency.

The Ministers' supporters also gheraoed the junior engineer today and sought his transfer.

The Chief Minister maintained that he could act only after the police investigation into the incident was completed.

UNI SRN-BM GK PK RK1508