PANAJI
A Portuguese national of Goan origin was on Tuesday arrested in connection with a rape case registered in London, United Kingdom, five years ago.
Armed with a non-bailable warrant issued against Jose Inacio Cota alias Sharif by the New Delhi Court, the Crime Branch (CB) of Goa Police picked him up from his ancestral home in Betalbatim.
He was arrested and produced before the judicial magistrate first class, Margao that remanded him to four days police custody to produce him before the Extradition Court in New Delhi.
The man is accused of raping a woman in a pub in London on May 28, 2017. He escaped to India on June 5, 2017, while an arrest warrant was issued on June 11, 2019, by the UK Court.
An extradition request was sent by the UK Government to the Ministry of External Affairs of India on September 18, 2020, followed by a complaint filed before the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Patiala House Courts, New Delhi Court by the Central Government on March 26, 2021.
The NBW was then issued on July 3, 2021, which was forwarded to the CB through the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), National Central Bureau - India, Interpol in New Delhi on August 23, 2022.
Sources said the accused was never found at his home whenever the police visited to arrest him. "The local police could not find him at his place. He was always on the move and at different locations. The CB then took over the matter and tracked him. As he was taking rest in his house, the CB was rushed to the spot to take his custody," an official said. It is learnt the accused had arrived in Goa two years ago.
