PANJIM: Goa police have finally found the motive behind the gang-rape of two women in Calangute– revenge, which was masterminded by Ajay Kusbas, one of the five arrested accused. The police are now looking out for three persons – Manoj, who arranged escorts for customers, Sameer and his girlfriend Isha.
The police have pieced together the sequence of events that unfolded since February this year when Ajay’s non resident Indian cousin Mahendra Singh wanted the ‘service of an escort’ in Goa.
North Goa Superintendent of Police Umesh Gaonkar told a press briefing that Ajay managed to find a ‘girlfriend’ through pimp Manoj only to be cheated later. “Mahendra contacted him (Ajay) via (social networking site) online requesting for a ‘girlfriend’ (escort) while he flew down to Goa from the United States in February. Ajay got in touch with Manoj for a girl for his NRI cousin,” he said quoting from the mastermind’s interrogation.
Manoj arranged for a hotel room along the beachside in Pernem, one taxi and three girls, of whom the cousin had to select one. “On entering the hotel room, the girl requested him (the NRI) to be replaced by another girl since she had some problem. The man agreed. To his shock, he thereafter noticed that Rs 1 lakh cash and and an Apple-make I-phone-6 worth Rs 50,000 was missing,” the officer said.
“He rushed down but both – the girl and the taxi– were missing.” It was this incident that triggered Ajay to settle scores with Manoj also since the pimp hoodwinked the cousins about returning the stolen amount.
The duped-man, however, did not approach the police to report the crime and instead left for the US in March.
Gaonkar, accompanied by Deputy SP Mahesh Gaonkar and Pernem Police Inspector Tushar Lotlikar, said Ajay then planned his revenge by laying a trap for Manoj by involving one Sameer, who in turn added his girlfriend Isha into the gang. The couple is among the three absconding.
Ajay took co-accused Nadeem Sayed into confidence to execute the crime after which, he roped-in Trebor Joseph, Jeevan Pawar and Kamesh Chowdhury – formerly with Mehfil bar and restaurant to kidnap two girls, which they asked Manoj to provide . However the police are still to verify if the girls indeed were sent by Manoj.
“Sameer by then had already arranged for the two girls (victims of gang-rape) and a taxi to ferry them from Siolim. En route, the gang of five (excluding Samir and Isha) intercepted the taxi posing as anti narcotics cell (ANC) personnel. The girls were kidnapped and taxi driver (Abhijit Kochrekar) was forced to drive to a rented flat at Calangute,” the SP narrated.
In the two-bedroom flat, the foursome excluding Ajay consumed liquor and offered the girls. SP Gaonkar suspects the drinks could have been spiked. The taxi driver was locked in another room and one of the accused was heard demanding ransom on a phone call, suspecting it was made to Manoj.
The drunk-men then raped the women hostages soon after Isha, who impersonating a lady cop stripped the victims naked on the pretext of searching them for narcotics. Interestingly, Ajay claims he was asleep when the women were raped in the same flat. Police ruled out his direct involvement in the rape but nonetheless booked him for gang-rape among other IPC sections.
The taxi driver was then let off, not knowing he would approach the police. Gaonkar said the team found some condoms and white powder-like substance from the crime scene, which have been sent for testing.
In the meantime, the police are verifying the antecedents of the victim girls, whose statements were recorded under Section 164 of CrPC on Friday. They are currently staying at Siolim.
The MBA degree holder Ajay claims to be operating a chain of hotels and renting out apartments to tourists. While among the gang, Jeevan has a history of wrongdoing when he, along with seven-eight others were arrested during a raid at Club Virgin in 2009.
