MARGAO: The Colva police arrested the absconding accused, Prashant Bastavadkar, 22, a native of Nandghad, Khanapur, for kidnapping and raping a minor girl. PSI Deepa Deyker, based on the complaint lodged by the victim’s father, registered an offence under Sections 354, 363, 376, 383, 506(ii), 323 and 511 of IPC, Section 8(2) of Goa Children’s Act 2003, and Section 4, 5(1), 7 and 8 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act 2012. The accused had been evading arrest. However, a team of Colva police dispatched to Belagavi successfully apprehended him in Khanapur.
According to the complaint filed with the police, the alleged accused kidnapped and raped the minor girl, 17, from July 2021 until August 2023. He abducted the girl from their residence in Khanapur and also at the Old Market in Margao. Additionally, he reportedly took obscene pictures of the young girl and extorted money from her by threatening to make those pictures viral on social media.
