POLICE VERSION
>> Legally no websites can be blocked. There is no specific law to block such sites in the country
>> Only those sites can be blocked which disrupts national security under the IT Act
>> The Central panel too was helpless as the web content does not come under the IT Act
>> The police had also approached the courts but couldn’t get any favourable order on the issue
WOMEN'S FORUM
PURSUES BATTLE
>> The forum blames the lethargic attitude of tourism department, department of women & child development and Goa Police
>> It has approached the civic bodies and panchayats to support its campaign against promotion of Goa as sex destination by escort service websites
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MAPUSA: With very little help from law, Goa Police are handicapped to go all out against websites offering sex services in the State.
Websites promising escorts and call girls have increasingly attracted wrong kind of tourists and earned a bad name to the touristic State.
Even in cases where police manage to shut a website, another was opened the very next day.
Superintendent of Police (crime), Karthik Kashyap informed that police in Goa has done everything possible to get rid of these websites.
“Legally no websites can be blocked in the country. There is no specific law to block such sites in the country. Only those sites can be blocked which disrupts national security under Section 69 of the Information Technology (IT) Act,” Kashyap said.
Goa Police had made a detailed presentation of such escort websites to the State government almost a year back.
“The State IT secretary then sent a detailed letter to a special committee under the Union ministry of IT who were also given a presentation in Delhi in January this year,” the SP disclosed.
“The special committee expressed their inability to do anything, as the content of the websites does not come under the Section 69 of the IT Act,” he added.
The SP further informed that the police had also approached the courts but couldn’t get any favourable order on the issue.
But Goa Women’s Forum, which has been relentlessly pursing the issue, is unconvinced and blames the lethargic attitude of tourism department, department of women & child development and Goa Police.
“The situation has reached such proportions that the escort service websites are selling sex services by offering college girls and housewives. They have not even spared religious places as now one escort service website is shown to provide call girls from the Basilica of Bom Jesus,” said Lorna Fernandes, convenor of Goa Women’s Forum.
The SP, however, said that through the numbers provided on the websites police have booked cases and also arrested some through successful traps.
“We will continue to do so. The number of such websites have drastically reduced in the last one or two years,” Kashyap said.
“But it is not a permanent solution. Anyone can create websites by paying Rs 500. We had requested the government to remove almost 80 websites and around 40 twitter handles,” he added.
Meanwhile the Goa Women’s Forum have approached the civic bodies and panchayats to support its campaign against promotion of Goa as sex destination by escort service websites.
“Pass a resolution asking the chief secretary and the director general of police to do all that is required in law to shut down these escort service websites which are openly promoting sex tourism in Goa,” Lorna said.
Last Sunday, Candolim gram sabha passed a resolution against such websites which paints the village in poor light.
“We will write to the cybercrime police to investigate into the matter, as it is a very serious issue and could affect tourism in Candolim,” said Blaize Fernandes, Sarpanch of Candolim.
