CANACONA
The sexual assault of a 4-year-old girl at Vodamoll in Shristhal, Canacona, on Tuesday night triggered widespread outrage across the taluka, with local leaders and activists visiting the Canacona police station to demand strict punishment for the accused without delay.
Tribal Welfare Minister and Canacona MLA Ramesh Tawadkar described the incident as shocking and unacceptable.
Former Canacona Municipal Council vice-chairperson Dilip Kenkre blamed the unorganised influx of migrants for rising crimes, including rape and robbery.
“Locals no longer want to pursue traditional trades such as barbering, masonry and carpentry, preferring white-collar jobs. Consequently, these occupations are being taken over by migrant workers,” he said, adding that such incidents had occurred in the past, continued to happen and could recur.
Goa Forward Party leader Vikas Bhagat called for migrant and tenant verification, increased police patrolling and public cooperation.
Bhagat claimed that 90-95 per cent of criminal cases in Goa involved migrant workers and said local bodies, including panchayats and municipalities, must share information and assist the police.
Activist Kalpana Bhat said migrants neither respected nor feared the law, police or government, despite every citizen having the constitutional right to work and reside anywhere in the country.
“Are women and children safe? The government must act strictly and ensure maximum punishment so that nobody dares to repeat such heinous acts,” she said.
Social worker Shubham Komarpant urged the government to introduce a police Pink Force to patrol peripheral areas, rather than concentrating only on beaches and markets.
