the goan I network
MAPUSA
A swimming coach employed in the State, Surojit Ganguly, who was recently hailed for his dedicated service in the Goa Assembly, was booked for rape and molestation on Thursday, Police informed.
The Goa Swimming Association (GSA) and Swimming Federation of India (SFI) sacked the disgraced swimming coach after a video of him allegedly molesting a minor girl went viral on social media.
Superintendent of Police, Utkrisht Prasoon said an FIR has been registered against Ganguly under Sections 461 (trespass), 354 (outraging modesty), 376 (rape) and 506 (ii) (criminal intimidation) of the IPC, Section 8 of the Goa Children’s Act and Sections 6 and 8 of POCSO Act.
Both the victim girl and the alleged accused coach are native of West Bengal.
Mapusa Police registered the offence after receiving the complaint from the father of the victim girl.
“The father of the girl complained in Hooghly in West Bengal. After receiving the complaint here we have registered an FIR on the basis of the complaint,” Prasoon said.
“We are not sure where exactly the incident happened but Goa and Mapusa is mentioned in the complaint,” he added.
Police are on the lookout of the coach who has been absconding since the video began doing the rounds a couple of days ago.
SFI President, Digambar Kamat, who also heads the swimming association in the State said that the tainted coach was not a permanent employee with the State association.
“Since there was shortage of coaches the GSA had written to Sport Authority of Goa (SAG) to allow him to train the swimmers in Peddem pool. Neither SAG nor the GSA has permanently employed him,” Kamat said.
He said some of the parents in Bardez had requested for the services of a swimming coach and therefore his services were hired.
“We have now issued him a letter discontinuing his services the moment the video became viral,” Kamat said.
The incident gained traction after a prominent filmmaker uploaded the video on the social media and tagged the Minister of State for Sports, Kiren Rijiju and sought action against the coach.
“A stringent action will be taken through Sports Authority. Firstly, it’s a heinous crime of serious nature so I’ll urge the Police to take stringent penal action against the coach urgently,” Rijiju tweeted.
Sources informed that the victim girl had arrived in Goa in March and was undergoing training with the coach in the Peddem swimming pool in Mapusa.
Sources further said that the girl was living in a flat in Mapusa.
Incidentally, a congratulatory motion was moved in the Goa Legislative Assembly in the monsoon session that ended last month hailing the coach with others “for bringing pride and glory to swimming and diving sports and the State of Goa”.
The motion was moved by Tivim MLA, Nilkant Halarnkar.
