PI Pravin says criminals are evolving

By Francis Cardozo

Sirvoi, a village in Quepem, was rocked by a sensational murder - not so long ago.

Worried villagers were clueless, and groping in the dark for answers. The gruesome crime knocked the stuffing out of the locals, who failed to understand the motive.

Acting on a complaint, a police team led by Police Inspector Pravin Gawas swung into action. PI Pravin narrowed down the suspect list. He persistently worked on a lone lead and within four hours - the criminal was in the police dragnet.

That earned Pravin the goodwill of the locals, and sent his stocks soaring.

"It was a difficult case as the criminal had covered his tracks well. But we rode on our experience to get to the bottom of the matter," avers Pravin, who has investigated high profile cases including, the Tarun Tejpal and Ruby Building Collapse cases.

Pravin, who joined Goa police as Police Sub Inspector in 2002, underwent training at Police Training College, Delhi.

"It was my childhood dream to be a police officer, and I thank God for fulfilling my dream. Whatever I have achieved thus far - I attribute it to my family," Pravin told this witer with a sense of pride in his words.

Besides doing stints at various police stations, including Ponda, Collem, Anjuna etc., he has managed to secure convictions in a whopping 30 cases.

Asked to single out any case he enjoyed working on the most, Pravin shrugged off saying: "every case is important. At the end of the day, conviction is paramount - be it small or a big case."

In recognition of his incisive investigating skills, Pravin was promoted to the rank of Police Inspector in 2013, and posted in Crime Branch, Ribandar. 

Pravin was drafted into a Special Team tasked with probing the sensational Vasco Double murder case in which Pratima Naik was recently sentenced to life imprisonment.

He, along with the team, were rewarded for cracking the case with fluency in what earlier looked like a blind case.

Pravin recently added another feather to his cap when he was awarded the DGP Insignia.

"The criminals are evolving with their techniques, and so we need to keep pace with them," he concluded on a final note.