A NIGHT OF SHAME: Police officials conduct panchanama at the rear side of the dilapidated and abandoned building in Mapusa. Agnelo Pereira
MAPUSA
As homes across Goa glowed with the warm flicker of Diwali lamps, families gathered for Lakshmi puja and the festival celebrated the triumph of good over evil, a little girl was being led into a darkness from which she would emerge traumatised, bruised and bleeding.
While the State celebrated the festival of lights, a four-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted inside an abandoned building in the heart of Mapusa town late Sunday evening, in a crime so horrifying that it has left the town shaken and struggling to come to terms with the brutality.
The chilling incident unfolded in a deserted lane just opposite the popular Lohia Garden, barely a stone's throw from the bustle of the town.
The child, a migrant from Maharashtra, had been accompanying her father, who was selling balloons on the streets of Mapusa to make a living.
According to eyewitness accounts, at around 8 pm, a man was seen pulling the little girl, dressed in a frock, towards the dark and secluded lane.
Some eyewitnesses and motorcycle pilots stationed near Lohia Garden noticed the two but did not suspect anything sinister, assuming that the man could be the child's father.
What happened next was a scene that those who witnessed it are unlikely to forget.
Sometime later, the little girl emerged from the lane naked, bleeding and crying. A motorcycle pilot and a local couple who spotted the distressed child rushed to her aid and tried to comfort her.
It was only then that they realised something horrific could have happened to her and alerted the Mapusa Police.
The police swung into action and rushed the child to the District Hospital, Mapusa, for a medical examination. She was subsequently shifted to Goa Medical College and Hospital, Bambolim, where her condition was stated to be stable.
The search for the alleged perpetrator began late on Sunday night.
Mapusa PI Anant Gaonkar and his team inspected the crime scene and fanned out to the Mapusa market, bus stand, Tivim railway station and other possible locations in an attempt to intercept the suspect. The darkness and lack of immediate leads, however, made the operation difficult.
A breakthrough of sorts came on Monday morning when police obtained CCTV footage showing the movement of a man allegedly dragging the child towards the lane.
“We have managed to get some clues, but identification of the face was not possible. The man was barefoot, which has given us some leads,” said Gaonkar.
A dog squad and a forensic team were also deployed at the scene on Monday morning to search for evidence and gather forensic clues.
SP North Rahul Gupta said police had gathered some leads and were pursuing all possible angles.
“We are working on the case very seriously and proceeding on the few clues we have got. We are confident we will crack the case,” Gupta said.
Police have detained a few suspects for questioning, but the alleged perpetrator is yet to be arrested. Police suspect that the man could be in the age group of 35 to 40 years.
A case of kidnapping and sexual assault has been registered in connection with the incident.
