the goan I network
MARGAO
Women and children’s rights activist Auda Viegas on Monday dared Goa Pradesh Congress Mahila Chief Pratima Coutinho to come clean after facing trial in the Sanguem child abuse case instead of demanding withdrawal of her name from the police chargesheet.
She also advised the media to exercise caution while reporting cases involving minors saying the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) Act has laid down guidelines for the media.
Addressing the media, Auda said Mahila Congress should not indulge in politics over the sexual abuse of the minor at Sanguem. “The police had been prompt in arresting the accused involved in the case. He was inside the jail for several days, before being let out on bail,” Auda said, adding that the Mahila Chief had exposed the minor girl by posing for a photograph with the mother of the victim girl.
“POCSO Act is very clear that you cannot divulge the antecedents of the victim girl. Leave along reporting her name, the media or anyone else cannot divulge details of her parents, the police station area or the village. The politicians and the media should exercise restraint in such sensitive cases,” she said, while making a fervent plea to the politicians not to meddle in issues involving minor children. “Is the Mahila Congress an NGO. Since when has it started taking the causes of minor children. They are doing more damage to the victims by posing for photographs with their parents,” she added.
