Both were released after being produced before Deputy Collector and Sub Divisional Magistrate Sachin Rana.
The duo was arrested following a complaint by the man’s wife and pressure from a large number of minority community members, who stormed the Vasco police station on Tuesday evening to demand the immediate arrest of Kerkar and Kumar.
The community members stated that a team of Vasco police, along with Kerkar and Kumar (witness), went to the man’s house to conduct a panchanama. They claimed that Kerkar slapped the man’s wife and even insulted her.
The wife filed a complaint against the duo with Vasco police on Tuesday evening, following which Kerkar and Kumar were arrested.
Meanwhile, addressing a press conference in Vasco after her release, Kerkar, who runs an NGO ‘Savera’, refuted the allegations levelled against her. She stated, “I had only gone to help the police, but the people made wrong allegations against me, and to pressurize the police, they all started protesting outside the police station. Looking at such a large number of people accusing me for no reason, I asked the police to arrest me only to bring the situation under control. However, I felt very bad when the police arrested the NGO volunteer who stood as a witness during panchanama. If such incidents take place, then no one will come forward to help the police.”
Meanwhile, the mother of the minor molestation victim has stated, “I don’t understand why people suddenly boycotted me socially because I took stand to seek justice for my daughter. Half of the people who are protesting against me have no idea what actually happened, but they are boycotting me for taking such stand. I want support and protection from the government for me and my daughter as I am a widow and cannot fight alone. I also feel that the police action against Tara and her volunteer is injustice.”
Meanwhile, the situation at the Vasco police station remained tense on Wednesday, with a large number of people seeking the release of the man, who claimed was innocent and targeted for political reasons.
