Inquire into acquittal
It is nothing short of shocking that two accused involved in grave sexual assault on a nine-year-old Russian girl at Arambol beach in January this year were acquitted by the Children’s Court on Monday. Court President P V Sawaikar acquitted Aman Bharadwaj and Anil Raghuvanshi, giving them the ‘benefit of doubt’.
On Republic Day – 26 January – the girl’s mother was allegedly approached at the beach by Aman, employee of a pharmaceutical company in Goa. He engaged her in conversation, while Anil played with the girl in the water. Later, Anil chatted with the mother, while Aman took the girl further into the water, where he allegedly sexually assaulted her. A medical examination conducted by senior doctors from the Goa Medical College (GMC) confirmed “digital vulval penetration” and five scratches/abrasions on her body caused by fingernails.
At the time the incident happened, the identity of the two accused was not known. By the time they were identified, they had fled and gone into hiding. After a massive manhunt, Anil was arrested at the KTC bus stand in Panjim, while Aman was nabbed at Chembur in Mumbai on 30 January.
The incident caused huge ripples. The Russian Embassy expressed its outrage in a written communique and demanded “strict and efficient” measures by the Government of India to ensure the safety of its citizens, failing which it threatened to issue an advisory to Russian tourists to avoid visiting Goa. Union Minister for Tourism Kumari Selja intervened quickly to contain the negative fallout, and asked for a detailed report from the state government on the incident.
Pernem police chargesheeted the accused on 9 February, within 14 days of the offense – a record. They named 38 witnesses. The accused were charged under sections 376 (rape), read with 511 (attempt to commit an offence) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 8 (2) (grave sexual assault) of the Goa Children’s Act. Police claimed that both the accused had confessed, but their confessions were not recorded before a magistrate; required by law to make them admissible as evidence.
After the trial commenced, Anil was made an approver and granted a conditional pardon. The government announced it would ‘fast track’ the trial, as incidents of sexual abuse on foreigners in Goa were increasing alarmingly.
It should have been an open-and-shut case. What went wrong? How could there be any room for doubt after the medical evidence was conclusive, and one of the two accused had turned approver? The government needs to look into this. It should immediately order an inquiry into the acquittal, fix responsibilities and take action where necesary, so that such embarrassments are not repeated. We must know whether it was lapses in prosecution or some other factors that led to this acquittal. There should not be a miscarriage of justice in such cases.
There is one other thing that the government needs to do; it needs to file an appeal against the judgment.
No safety rules?
We have time and again pointed out how careless watersports operators are endangering tourists on our beaches. On Sunday, a Finnish tourist suffered deep cuts on his head after he was hit by a dolphin boat in the swim zone and had to be hospitalised. Earlier, two parasail boats came too close and their parasails got entangled, throwing one tourist into the water, while the other suffered rope burns.
There must be strict rules for the safety of those doing watersports as well as others on the beach. They must be implemented strictly. What are we waiting for… a death?
