l Ten months after taking over, the rapist of the 7-year-old school girl is still at large
l CBI releases third sketch of suspected Vasco rapist, similar to first sketch
l CBI states that it has looked at angles and clues which the Crime Branch did not
Big ask: Why was the second sketch of the Goa Police vastly different, which threw the investigation off track
TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: Ten months after taking over the sexual assault case of a seven-year-old minor girl, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday released yet another sketch of a suspect. Incidentally, this one has just a few similarities with the original composite sketch released by Goa Police in January 2013.
“The drawing is based on descriptions given by the victim, and a few school staffers who saw the unknown person aimlessly loitering on the school campus,” a CBI official told Herald on condition of anonymity. A cash reward of Rs 1 lakh has been announced for any information leading to the arrest of the unidentified suspect.
The two sketches have some
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similarities right from broad face, short haircut to broad lips. The difference is that the suspect in the computer-generated sketch has a slight beard and moustache while the original one had no facial hair.
The description thus goes against the Goa Police’s revised sketch. This one was anyway different from its first release as it depicted the suspect with a long face, medium hair parting, dark eyes, moustache, chin beard and round earrings.
The CBI had roped-in an expert sketch-maker from Mumbai at a payment of Rs 30,000 for this task.
“It took a couple of weeks to finalize the composite sketch based on various inputs we gathered from the witnesses. It was later sent to our headquarters in Delhi before publishing the sketch in the dailies,” the officer said.
According to eye witnesses, the accused was seen wearing blue jeans and a blue, white and black-striped long sleeved shirt in the school premises before committing the crime. The new sketch, however, does not indicate that he was wearing the striped shirt.
CBI sources said the suspect is a daily wage earner from outside Goa. Sources also affirm that initial apprehension about the involvement of Monty Sanchez, nephew of suspended headmistress Sharlet Furtado, was completely false.
The CBI that took over the investigation in September 2013 claims to have laid its hands on clinching evidence to nail the culprit, which was apparently overlooked by the previous investigating agencies – Vasco police and Crime Branch.
Through its experts, the agency had already recorded DNA and finger-palm prints from the school’s toilet door and wall where the girl was allegedly a victim of the horrific crime. According to her father, she has undergone around 10 counselling sessions so far and is showing improvement. Her performance in studies is also improving after she was depressed in the wake of the incident.
