Panaji, Sept 6: Congress leader Sunil Kawthankar on Sunday launched a sharp attack on the Pramod Sawant-led government over the law-and-order situation in Goa, questioning the heavy police deployment outside the Congress office and alleging that ordinary citizens have been left vulnerable amid rising crime.

In a social media post, Kawthankar claimed that the Goa Police had turned the Congress office into a “fortress” with heavy deployment and sarcastically suggested that the force instead be used to protect Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while referring to recent incidents of crime in the state.

Kawthankar alleged that Goa had witnessed regular shootouts and claimed that nearly 400 rape cases, 130 murders, 354 kidnappings, 1,127 assaults and 2,100 robberies and thefts had been recorded during the last four years.

Using these figures to target the government, he alleged that women and ordinary citizens had been left vulnerable and described Goa’s law-and-order situation as having “collapsed”.

His remarks came against the backdrop of police personnel being deployed outside the Congress office. Kawthankar also targeted Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, alleging that the government was using substantial police manpower around the opposition office while serious crimes continued to raise concerns over public safety.