Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday presented the President’s Colour to the Goa Police, honouring more than eight decades of its service, courage and professionalism, and praised the force for safeguarding the state’s coastline, tourists and internal security.
Addressing the ceremony in Panaji, HM Shah said the prestigious honour recognised the Goa Police’s history of professional excellence, discipline, courage and dedication. He said the force had successfully discharged its responsibilities of maintaining safe communities and protecting Goa’s maritime borders since the formation of the state.
HM Shah paid tribute to police personnel who lost their lives in the line of duty, particularly Balaram Shinde, Abhishek Sher, Shailesh Gaonkar and Vishwas B. Deykar, saying their sacrifice had contributed to the force earning the national recognition.
The Home Minister said internal and border security were essential prerequisites for a developed nation and highlighted the Goa Police’s role in securing the state’s extensive coastline. He also credited the force with helping ensure the safety of tourists and contributing to Goa’s economy.
Cybercrime helpline to get multilingual AI support
HM Shah highlighted the Goa Police’s introduction of an AI-based call agent for the national cybercrime helpline 1930, describing it as an important step in strengthening the fight against cyber fraud.
He said the system would enable complaints to be registered in Konkani, Marathi and Hindi initially, while facilitating complaint registration in all languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution and routing cases to the appropriate authorities.
Given Goa’s large tourist population, HM Shah said the multilingual system would make it easier for visitors from across India to report cyber fraud.
He expressed confidence that the 1930 helpline would become a strong shield against cyber fraud in the coming years.
Goa Police response time cut to eight minutes
HM Shah praised the Goa Police for improving its emergency response system, noting that response time under the 112 helpline had been reduced from 18 minutes to eight minutes.
He said nearly 20,000 calls had received prompt assistance and expressed confidence that the response time could be brought below six minutes with the deployment of additional vehicles and two-wheelers.
The Home Minister also highlighted the Goa Police’s Tourist Police Wing as a potential model for other states with large tourist inflows.
Conviction rate rises from 23% to 53%
HM Shah said the implementation of the three new criminal codes had brought technology, sensitivity, prioritisation and speedy justice into policing and the criminal justice system.
He said the Goa Police had ranked first nationally for several months in implementing the new criminal laws and currently stood second with 93.38 per cent progress.
The force had performed strongly across all nine implementation parameters, he said, while its conviction rate had risen by 30 percentage points in just one year – from 23 per cent to 53 per cent of FIRs.
HM Shah said the integration of police stations, forensic laboratories, courts, jails, hospitals and other components of the justice system through technology would further improve the delivery of justice.
Goa Police urged to lead anti-narcotics campaign
The Home Minister said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had prepared a roadmap for 2026-2029 to intensify the country’s fight against narcotics.
Under the plan, the government aims to make villages and cities across India free from narcotics through coordinated efforts involving various departments and state governments.
HM Shah expressed confidence that the Goa Police, given its experience and capabilities, would emerge as a leading force in the fight against drug trafficking and abuse.
He also called on Goa Police personnel to step up preparations for the International Police Sports Championship to be held in India in 2029. He urged the force to aim for a strong medal tally across sporting disciplines and not limit its preparations to football.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Union Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy Shripad Yesso Naik, the Union Home Secretary, Goa Chief Secretary, Goa Director General of Police and other dignitaries attended the ceremony.
