MARGAO: The members of Goencho Avaaz and Goa Pradesh Mahila Congress on Sunday held two separate demonstrations outside the Margao Town Police station to protest the gang-rape of a Goan girl by three tourists on Betalbatim beach.
The Goencho Avaaz delegation led by Captain Viriato Fernandes presented a memorandum to the Margao Police Inspector Kapil Nayak and Mahila Congress submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Superintendent of Police as the Superintendent of Police was on leave.
While the Goencho Avaaz team was backed by revolutionary Goans, the 13 Mahila Congress members led by President Pratima Coutinho tried to break the police blockade to enter the police station as they shouted slogans against politicising the issue.
The Goencho Avaaz team blamed the lopsided tourist promotion to be the cause of the situation, as visitors think they can get anything including drugs, alcohol, casinos and even women for free in Goa. They blamed the Congress Party for this wrong tourism promotion in Goa and urged the Congress Mahilas to keep politics out of the matter.
Stung by the criticism, all the 13 Mahila Congress members removed their party scarves and joined the people demonstrating on the road outside the police station. Both groups demanded speedy justice and stringent action against the accused.
The Mahila Congress demanded that the three accused be hanged to death and appealed to the Deputy Superintendent of Police Raut Dessai to book a case. They demanded that the case be tried in a fast track court.
Goencho Avaaz demanded a speedy trial and investigations in such cases be handled by an officer of the rank of a Deputy Superintendent of Police. The members offered their help in case if the police are put under any pressure in investigating the case.
Both groups demanded intensified police patrolling especially at night and proper illumination of the beaches.
A group of people from Betalbatim recalled that Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar had promised beach patrolling but that has not happened.
Hillary Cotta from Betalbatim pointed out that four years back a similar incident had occurred in their village wherein a migrant had snatched a chain from a Goan lady and had allegedly molested her. Cotta pointed out that Manohar Parrikar had visited their village then and promised to intensify patrolling.
“We are seeing a headless chicken in Goa as the Chief Minister is not there, the tourism minister, who is responsible for the incident, is not there and at Margao, the Superintendent of Police is absent,” said Pratima Coutinho.
“For 100 days, Goans have been crying for the Chief Minister and he is not available. While we pray for his speedy recovery, Goans cannot be made to suffer like this endlessly and Manohar Parrikar should resign as chief minister on moral grounds at least,” she demanded.
Zarina D’Cunha, while presenting the memorandum to Kapil Nayak appealed to the police authorities to make this the first and last case of gang-rape in Goa.
