A 16-year-old girl attempted suicide after she was kidnapped and raped in a car. Porvorim police have reportedly arrested the accused. In another instance a 15-year-old girl was kidnapped by an unknown person from her house in Margao. Based on a complaint lodged by her father, offences under Section 363, for kidnapping and Section 8 of Goa Children’s Act have reportedly been registered by the Margao police. Some of the reasons why a stranger might kidnap a child include extortion to elicit a ransom from the parents, illegal adoption wherein a stranger steals a child with the intent to rear the child as their own or to sell to a prospective adoptive parent.
Rape happens to be another reason for kidnapping of minor girls. In several instances the kidnapper is known to the victim or there is involvement of a person known to the family like domestic help, friends, or tenants who had tipped off the kidnappers. Parents need to set boundaries about the places where their kids can go and keep a tag on their movement. Children should be supervised in places like malls, movie theatres, parks and other crowded places. They should be told to keep away from strangers and not talk to them.
