the goan I network
CANACONA
The accused from Tamil Nadu, who has been remanded to 12 days in police custody after being arrested on charges of raping a British woman at Char-Rasta, is reported to have previously surveyed beaches along the Canacona coast and has also been accused of some burglaries in those areas.
According to Canacona police, Ramchandra Chandralappa (30) was produced before the Canacona JMFC on Friday on charges of raping and robbing a 42-year-old British national near the Palolem beach in the wee hours of Thursday. “JMFC judge Aruna Fernandes remanded the accused to 12 days in police custody. Further investigations are underway and police is piecing together the evidence as part of the investigation,” said Canacona PSI Prashal Dessai.
Police said the victim has been a regular visitor to Goa, and to the Canacona coast in particular, since the last 10 years, and had been residing at Palolem beach since the last three weeks.
Sources added that the woman has been residing in Goa on a long term visa and would generally stay for over six months in the State.
“Being well-versed with the area, the woman had preferred to walk back from the railway station to her room at Palolem in the wee hours of Thursday,” said a source.
While senior police officials from South Goa visited Canacona to take stock of police investigations, police sources said the accused and his accomplice had been targetting the coastal areas in the State.
It was by sheer chance that the accused landed in the police dragnet within two hours of the crime for the crimes he was accused of along the coastal area of Pernem taluka.
Sources also added that the accused had surveyed the Canacona coast, especially Palolem, Agonda and Galgibaga, during his previous visits and was even accused of thefts in those areas.
Chandralappa is believed to have reached Canacona late Thursday evening and reportedly parked his scooter somewhere between Char-Rasta and the Palolem-Agonda Junction Road. He is suspected to have been planning a burglary in the vicinity, which has a number of plush bungalows.
It was at this place that Chandralappa is reported to have noticed the British woman walking alone towards Palolem in the wee hours of Thursday and allegedly raped and robbed her.
He then returned to a hotel in Margao, unaware that a police team was lying in wait for him in connection with burglaries in Mandrem and he was nabbed. Police later noticed some possessions of the British woman with the accused and linked him to the crime.
Stakeholders fear adverse impact on tourism in Canacona
CANACONA: The rape on the British woman has not only shocked people in Canacona taluka, many tourism stakeholders have now feared the incident could have an adverse impact on tourism in Canacona takuka.
Two of Goa’s most prominent beaches, Palolem and Agonda, are located in Canacona taluka and the coastal areas attract a huge number of domestic and foreign tourists.
There is growing concern among tourism stakeholders that the incident could be either be used to tarnish Goa’s reputation as an unsafe tourist destination.
This is the third incident involving violent crimes against foreign tourists in the last three years.
In March 2017, a 28-year-old Irish woman was raped and murdered by a local known acquaintance in the Devabhaga fields, close to the road between Palolem and Agonda.
Three years ago, a Finnish teenager, Felix Dahl, was found murdered on the roadside at Patnem.
There have been other reports of complaints being filed by foreign tourists at the Canacona police station regarding burglaries in their rented rooms.
“Canacona beaches, which are known for their serene and peaceful surroundings, are now being tainted due to such incidents. This shocking rape incident has taken place at a time when tourists were beginning to visit Canacona beaches in greater numbers,” said Wilson, who runs a tourism trade along Canacona’s coast. “This is a shocking incident and the culprit should receive the maximum punishment for his crime. We only hope this incident does not affect the bookings and visits along Canacona’s coast,” he added.
