MARGAO
Strange it may seem, but true that known persons and not strangers, including friends, lovers, family members, neighbours and self-elopements are responsible behind incidents of rape and POCSO cases, besides kidnappings.
The Goa Police has maintained a good track record in detecting the rape and POCSO cases, but analysis into the incidents by the men-in-uniform in South Goa have dished out clear picture that no strangers have been involved in these incidents.
South district Police chief, SP Abhishek Dhania told the media that accused involved in the rape and POCSO cases were not strangers, but known persons. “Further analysis has revealed that in around 67.34 per cent of rape and POCSO cases, the friends or known persons, including lovers and elopement were involved in the crimes. We have further realised that around 20 per cent of the accused persons have turned out to be relatives or family members, while 11 per cent of the accused happened to be neighbours,” SP Dhania said, saying in almost all the cases of rape and POCSO cases, the accused has been known to the victim.
He added: “No strangers were involved in these offences. Both the accused and victims were known to each other. But, the police have registered the cases since the victims were minors who were involved in physical intimacy.”
He asserted that not a single case of gang rape has been reported in the rape and POCSO cases in South Goa.
As far as kidnappings are concerned, the district police chief said of the 30 cases of kidnapping registered in the district, 28 have been detected till date. He, however, hastened to add that like in the rape and POCSO cases, most of the kidnappers were known persons, including friends. “Around 14 per cent of the kidnappings were elopement cases, wherein the boy and the girl have eloped, before their parents and guardians lodged FIRs. We have come across self-elopement cases, wherein both the lovers are minors or the male person or the female minor,” he said.
SP Dhania, however, said not a single case of kidnapping for ransom has been reported in the South Goa district. “Further analysis of kidnapping incidents have revealed that 22 per cent of the victims were locals, while 77 per cent of the accused form part of the migrant population. In most of the cases, the outsiders happened to be the accused persons in these cases,” he said.
The SP, South further said there’s been no truth in the rumours of kidnappings of school children that did the rounds in the district last year. “We had to grapple with the issue of child kidnappings last year, but we somehow managed to nip rumour mongering in the bud by registering multiple FIRs across the district,” he added.
