GOA CURRENT : GOA: A HOTSPOT FOR ‘SUPARI’ SHOOTERS

Two armed men opened fire at close range at Srinivas Nayak, director of the Majestic Pride casino group, outside Neo Majestic in Porvorim on August 28. Nayak escaped unharmed, but the assailants fired and disappeared barely 100 metres from the Porvorim Police Station and the North Goa SP headquarters. This Goa Current investigation goes beyond one shooting to document two connected patterns: sharpshooters and contract killers entering Goa to execute murders or attempted murders, and wanted shooters, gang operatives and murder accused using Goa as a hideout after committing crimes elsewhere. The first trail begins with hotelier Pravin Grover, shot dead at a Candolim resort in 2006 in what the prosecution described as a contract killing. In 2017, Goa Police foiled a Rs 6 lakh plot to murder restaurateur Gajendra “Chotu” Singh. Four hitmen travelled to Goa, conducted reconnaissance and stayed in coastal hotels using false identities. Police recovered six country-made pistols and 26 live cartridges. In 2021, businessman Amir Naik was shot dead at Bogmalo by contract killers from Uttar Pradesh, allegedly hired for Rs 5 lakh. The second trail is equally disturbing. Dawood gang sharpshooter Shyam Kishore Garikapatti lived in Saligao under a false identity for eight years. Five alleged contract killers wanted for the six-bullet murder of Satara businessman Amit Bhosle were detained at Arpora. Lawrence Bishnoi associate Vishnu Bishnoi, wanted in the murder of Punjab businessman Sanjeev Verma, was found in an Anjuna hotel. Murder accused Alok Verma, Daljit Singh and Mehtab Khan were also traced to Goa. These are not isolated coincidences. Official District Magistrate orders acknowledge that criminals use Goa’s hotels and rented premises under fictitious identities and become difficult to trace after committing offences. Goa has acquired a reputation as a place where sharpshooters can arrive, attack and escape—and where murder accused can hide among tourists and rented accommodation. The Porvorim attack places that reputation, Goa’s weak verification system and the network of local facilitators under scrutiny. Catching the gunmen is only the beginning. Goa Police must expose who ordered, financed, armed, housed and helped them escape before another shooter fires and disappears.