Police in Goa on Saturday arrested three tourists, all of them natives of Indore in Madhya Pradesh for allegedly robbing and gangraping a young local girl on Friday night in front of her boyfriend and later filming the act, in order to blackmail her.
The incident, which has evoked a strong reaction in the tourism haven, has re-ignited the debate of safety of women on Goa’s popular beaches as well as excesses of tourism, especially in the coastal areas of the state. The three accused namely Sanjiv Dhananjay Pal (23), Ram Santosh Bhariya (19) and Vishwas Makrana (24) were arrested while trying to exit the state.
“The three accused have been booked under sections 376 (rape) and 394 (robbery) of the Indian Penal Code,” Superintendent of Police (South Goa) Arvind Gawas told The Pioneer.
The incident occurred late on Friday, when the victim (20), along with her boyfriend (22) was visiting Betalbatim beach in South Goa, nearly 45 km from Panaji, on late Friday evening. The couple was accosted by the trio, who first demanded money from them. After they robbed Rs. 500 from their scooter locker, the accused then beat up the boyfriend and stripped the victim before raping her in turn and filming the dastardly act on their cell phones. Medical examination has confirmed rape, police source said.
“We managed to arrest Sanjiv Pal first because he was calling the victim on her phone demanding more money from her, failing which he threatened to leak the video on the social media,” a police official familiar with the investigation said.
After Pal’s arrest, the police were able to track down the location of the two other accused, who were arrested by noon on Saturday.