Nearly three incidents in as many weeks of vigilante-like demolition of shacks in Baga and Calangute beach villages has brought into the limelight an otherwise clandestine operation of organised soliciting by transgenders and women along Goa's popular coastal areas. Tension over rampant prostitution reached a peak when local BJP MlA Michael lobo last week led a mob which allegedly demolished illegally operating dance bars. Now days after the arson, operators of these bars accused lobo and the police of extorting money from them. "lobo demanded Rs25 lakh from me to run the place. When I refused he attacked my restaurant," Sunil Bhomkar, who runs Agni bar told The Pioneer.
lobo, while admitting that he was approached by one of the bar operators with a Rs25 lakh bribe, told reporters that he rejected the bribe offer. "I have filed a police complaint against Bhomkar. They have even tried to shoot me. They are openly threatening an MlA," lobo countered. lobo, along with 25 others has been booked by the police for arson. lobo earlier this week, went on a token fast accusing his own BJP-led coalition Government of doing little to curb prostitution along the coastal belt.
State Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar however, blamed lobo for not taking the "right steps to resolve the issue". "He should have met the Chief Minister and not gone on a hunger strike," Parulekar said. Shack owners say there are 'others' among their tribe who are committing illegalities. "No amount of complaints work. These shacks which host provocative dances and offer transgenders are attracting the wrong kind of tourists to Goa," John lobo, the secretary of the Shack Owners Welfare Society said.