PANJIM: The Pilerne Citizens Forum (PCF) on Saturday demanded that the rape case of the 15-year-old girl from Nerul be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for fair and proper investigation in the interest of justice.
The forum has also given a 15-day ultimatum to the DGP to solve the case, failing which they have warned to take to the streets.
Addressing the media, PCF president Prakash Bandodkar said, “We have submitted a letter to the Governor, Chief Minister, Chief Secretary, Director General of Police (DGP) and the Superintendent of Police, North Goa and have demanded to hand over the case to CBI for fair and proper investigation in interest of justice.” He added, “If the case is still not solved then we will file a petition in the High Court.”
He further said that the people of Verem had lost trust in the Porvorim police station as no action was taken against the accused Bassu Biradar even as two complaints were filed against him. If the police had taken any action then the gang rape would have been avoided, he said.
“The sister of the victim filed a rape complaint on May 1, 2018 after which Bassu and his gang were arrested. However, the gang was set free while Bassu was remanded in police custody for seven days. We want the entire gang to be arrested, the CCTV footage of the guest house in which the rape took place should be checked,” he added
The PCF president also demanded that the victim and her family members be adequately be guarded under the Witness Protection Act, if any, while also stating that any visitors to them may be recorded as attempts are being made to hush up the case.
