Government files appeal in four
TEAM HERALD
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PANJIM: Out of a total of 27 rape cases registered in Goa between 2010 till 2013, against minors, accused persons have been acquitted in 23 cases, while in four cases government has appealed, the House was told Tuesday.
According to a reply tabled in the House, 27 cases, in which victims were minors, had been registered since 2010, till date. A total of 15 cases were reported in 2010, in eight in 2011, two in 2012 and two cases have been reported so far in 2013.
Speaking about the case, in which a German minor was allegedly raped and allegations surfaced of the involvement of the son of a former minister, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar told the State assembly on Tuesday that it was resolved following a settlement between the complainant and the accused. Parrikar, who is also Minister for Home, said that ‘no sufficient evidence was brought on the record by police and the victim girl was also not examined, which resulted in the acquittal of the accused’.
“Since the issue was revolving around former minister, police did not show alertness in the case,” he alleged adding ‘the alertness police showed in arresting Mickky (Pacheco), the same (extent of alertness) should have been shown in this case’.
“They (police) were prompt to put Mickky behind bars,” he commented replying to the question tabled by BJP MLA Kiran Kandolkar, who sought to know why the case of German minor was registered as rape without examining the victim.
Chief Minister said that the act of complainant should have been investigated by police to know the exact motto behind filing the case and said that a well known lawyer from the State forced the complainant to file the case.
The son of the former minister was arrested in November 2008 on the charge of raping the 14-year-old girl.
He was acquitted by Children’s Court as the victim’s mother and the girl refused to cooperate with the prosecution as both left for Germany before the commencement of the trial, and were not available to testify before the court. Nearly three summons were returned undelivered in the case.
