PANJIM: The All India Mahila Congress (AIMC) on Thursday alleged with rise in crimes against women, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has made Goa the hub for human trafficking.

Addressing a press conference at the Congress House, Panjim, AIMC president Netta D’Souza pointed out that since 2016, a total of 743 women were reported missing in Goa while, the rate of crime of sex trafficking in Goa is 1.1 per cent, which is the highest in the country. The Sawant government has made Goa the hub of human trafficking, she charged.

D’Souza said that every week Goa registers four crimes against women in Goa, which was a safe place for women in the past. Over 1000 such cases have been registered since 2017 to February this year while, over 200 cases are reported every year. The total crime against women has increased by 24 per cent under the Sawant government as per the date released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), she said.

Referring to the incident of two minor girls raped at Benaulim beach in July this year, D’Souza said that Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s statement in the Legislative Assembly that the parents need to introspect why their daughters were out so late at night speaks volumes of his anti-women mindset. Standing as people’s representative in the Legislative Assembly, the Chief Minister shifted his burden of responsibility of citizens to the parents.

The AIMC president said that incidents of murders and rapes had now become a part and parcel of Goa’s daily experience. She said that the police failure to investigate the mysterious death of teenager Siddhi Naik shows that the government is not at all interested in the safety of 50 per cent populace of Goa.

D’Souza further said that rising prices of LPG cylinders and essential commodities has also made the life miserable for the women.

Goa Pradesh Mahila Congress in-charge Beena Naik was also present for press conference.