She cried out loud, but not a single cop heard

PANJIM: In a gathering of hundreds, she told her story. A story that lay embedded in her gut, that was assaulted and invaded by three beasts, one man, his wife and his mother. We brought to you the story in its stark horror on Friday. Today we tell you this. The woman who was brutally beaten, dragged and chilli powder stuffed into her genitals by her neighbours, a man, his wife and his mother (yes you read that right), did speak about the continued harassment of the brutes during the International Women’s Day function on March 8. At that time the harassment, the abuses and threats were increasing and she, a widow with a six-year-old cried out loud in a gathering of senior police officials and members of the public.

Though the DGP and the North Goa SP directed the police to take action, no one did. And the torture and threats increased till she was almost done to death and raped (according to the same definition of the new rape law under which Tehelka founder Tarun Tejpal is in jail) on June 23.

After your newspaper decided to step on this investigation, the three were arrested overnight after roaming free for three months, and the policeman who registered a non-cognisable offence against the accused was suspended. The accused – a male neighbour, his mother and wife were arrested late Thursday night, and were produced before the Judicial Magistrate First Class, Mapusa on Friday and remanded to police custody for seven days. The gruesome incident occurred on June 23, 2014 over a boundary dispute and the complaint was lodged the same day.

“She had described the harassment in detail in her public address. The Director General of Police and North Superintendent of Police had thereafter directed Mapusa police to take action on her complaints but the perpetrators continued torturing her,” Bailancho Saad convenor Sabina Martins, said alleging the local police station were absolutely lax in their investigation and action.

According to the complaint, chilli and turmeric powder were stuffed into the victim’s genitals by Jogre Sasve after she was mercilessly assaulted by Jogre’s mother Sonabai Sasve and his wife.

“Earlier, police took all her complaints casually and in not a single case, was any action taken against the neighbours named in the victim’s complaints,” Martins said adding, “Once, a policeman also called up one of her family members asking to take her home. They had called her ‘mental.”

Herald shall not rest, nor leave this till Jogre Sasve, his mother Sonabai and Jogre’s wife get maximum punishment for a case which falls under the rarest of the rare for the inhumanity of it all. This is the worst Goa has seen.

A few similar cases of police inaction:

Herald will watch closely each of these cases, besides others and follow them up.

A 70-year-old woman was dragged on the road, stripped naked and mercilessly beaten by a constable Amjad Karol in March. He was later suspended. After nearly 25 days of treatment in the Goa Medical College and Hospital, the destitute was moved to Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity old-age home at St Inez.

A middle-aged woman complained that her neighbours tied her with a wire and beat her at St Cruz. Police took no action saying there was manpower shortage, since the personnel were deputed for duty for PM Narendra Modi’s visit on June 14.

Another woman complained that her in-laws were intentionally cutting the power to her Old Goa residence.

Vasco schoolgirl rape case that is currently being probed by the CBI.