India
Goa Police Inspector and Woman Arrested Over Alleged Minor’s Sexual Assault at Cyber Crime Station
Goa Police arrested a 40‑year‑old suspended police inspector and a 37‑year‑old woman for allegedly facilitating the sexual assault of a minor at the Cyber Crime Police Station on two occasions earlier this year. Inspector Vikas Deykar and Rajani Palekar were taken into custody on Wednesday after a minor alleged that she was asked to undress and was touched inappropriately during visits to the station on July 25 and October 27. The North Goa Superintendent of Police, Rahul Gupta, said that both accused had joined the investigation under notices issued under Section 35(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023. During further interrogation, material inconsistencies were found in their statements and they failed to provide satisfactory explanations for key aspects of the case. Gupta added that, given the evidence collected, their alleged involvement, lack of cooperation, the need for custodial interrogation, and concerns about possible influence on witnesses and tampering with evidence, both were placed under arrest. Deykar had previously been suspended after an FIR was lodged against him and was posted as the police inspector of the Cyber Crime division of the Crime Branch. The minor’s complaint stated that she was asked to undress and was touched inappropriately when she visited the Cyber Crime Police Station. The accused were booked under Sections 75 (sexual harassment), 127 (wrongful confinement), 49 (abetment of an offence) and 61(2)(a) (criminal conspiracy) read with Section 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and Sections 10 and 12 of the POCSO Act.