PANAJI
Crime Branch Police Inspector Vikas Deykar was suspended on Saturday evening, more than 24 hours after a complaint was filed and an FIR registered against him for allegedly sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl. Police are however yet to arrest him.
The suspended officer is accused of committing the offence inside his cabin at the CB premises, Ribandar on two occasions in July and October.
Sources in the Old Goa police said that Deykar allegedly covered the CCTV camera installed in his cabin to prevent it from recording the alleged assaults, which took place on July 25 and October 27. Nevertheless, the investigating team seized available CCTV footage from the premises and are examining recordings from other cameras as well, which reportedly have audio-recording facilities.
The incident occurred when the minor had approached Deykar in connection with a cyber-related complaint.
"During one of her visits, she allegedly spent around 15 minutes inside his closed cabin without a female police officer or an NGO representative accompanying her. Deykar reportedly called her to the CB office outside regular working hours, when most staff members had left for the day," said an official.
The police are likely to question Deykar's staff and record their statements to establish the circumstances surrounding the alleged incidents and determine whether anyone else facilitated the offences.
The case drew criticism after the authorities initially transferred Deykar to the GRP instead of suspending him. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant subsequently assured suspension of the officer.
DGP Alok Kumar said the Goa Police follows a zero-tolerance policy towards misconduct and has initiated legal and departmental action against Deykar and his alleged accomplice.
An engineering graduate, the PI served as a panch member of the Quedem-Barcem village panchayat in Quepem before becoming one of Goa's youngest sarpanches. He joined the Goa Police as a Police Sub-Inspector in 2013, two years after police named him as an accused in the 2011 UTAA cases.
He subsequently rose through the ranks to become a Police Inspector and recently received the President's Colours honour from Union Home Minister Amit Shah. He also handled several investigations, including cyber fraud cases.
