Goa gangrape: All three accused tourists arrested
Panaji, May 26: Goa Police on Saturday arrested three persons in connection with a gang-rape at the popular Colva beach late on Friday night, even as a Goa Minister has bemoaned the quality of tourists visiting the coastal state.
The three accused-tourists from Indore have been charged with robbing and gang-raping a 20-year-old girl late on Friday, while she was visiting Colva beach along with her 22-year-old boyfriend.
"All three accused have been arrested. Two accused Sanjiv Dhananjay Pal, 23, and Ram Santosh Bhartiya, 19, both from Indore were arrested early on Saturday morning. The third accused Vishwas Makrana, 24, also from Indore was picked up from a railway station in South Goa later today," Superintendent of Police (South Goa) Arvind Gawas told reporters.
The victim, who hails from a nearby village, had also claimed that the sexual assault was filmed by the alleged rapists and she was warned by them against informing the police.Police have said that medical examination of the victim has confirmed rape.
An FIR was filed late on Friday at Colva police station under sections 376 (rape) and 394 (robbery) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Following the arrest of the third accused, Town and Country Planning Minister Vijai Sardesai in a tweet complimented police for the swift investigation, while also bemoaning the quality of tourists coming to Goa.
"A case of blackmail, rape and robbery by 'tourists'! I have always stressed that quality of tourists should be our focus! Only then can #Goa be safe and forward!" Sardesai said.
Some months ago, Sardesai had courted controversy after he said that a majority of the domestic tourists coming to Goa were "scum of the earth".
Goa, a top beach and lifestyle tourism designation in the country, attracts more than seven million tourists every year, out of which half a million are foreigners.
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Traffic fraud: Fake 'no-entry' sticker racket busted in Delhi, mastermind among 3 held
New Delhi (PTI): Police here have busted a crime syndicate involved in traffic fraud and extortion, arresting three people including the alleged mastermind who sold fake stickers to help commercial vehicles bypass no-entry restrictions, an official said on Saturday.
The police said they dismantled a third organised syndicate linked to traffic-related frauds, with the arrest of Rinku Rana alias Bhushan, his associate Sonu Sharma and Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, who was also connected to another extortion syndicate.
According to the police, Rinku Rana was running a well-organised network that facilitated the movement of commercial goods vehicles during restricted hours by selling fake 'marka' or stickers for Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per vehicle every month. The stickers were falsely projected as authorisation to evade traffic challans.
During raids, the police recovered Rs 31 lakh in cash, property documents worth several crores of rupees, over 500 fake stickers and six mobile phones allegedly used to operate the syndicate.
The crackdown followed a complaint filed by a traffic police officer in April this year after a commercial vehicle tried to evade checking by producing a fake sticker claiming exemption from enforcement action.
Investigation revealed that social media groups were being used to coordinate the illegal movement of vehicles and alert drivers about traffic police checkpoints, police said.
"A parallel system was being run to cheat drivers and vehicle owners while undermining traffic enforcement. On the basis of evidence, provisions related to organised crime under the BNS were invoked," a senior police officer said.
Sonu Sharma, the police said, managed social media groups through which stickers were sold and real-time alerts were circulated regarding traffic police movement. He also acted as a link between Rana and drivers operating in the field.
In a related development, Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, an associate of Rajkumar alias Raju Meena, who was earlier arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), was also apprehended.
Mukesh allegedly helped extort money from transporters and was involved in blackmailing traffic police personnel by recording enforcement actions, the police said.
Investigators alleged the syndicate led by Rajkumar deployed drivers to deliberately violate traffic rules and secretly record police officials during challans, later using manipulated videos to extort money under threat of false allegations.
The police said that in total, eight accused belonging to three different organised crime syndicates linked to traffic frauds and extortion have been arrested so far.
Further investigation is underway to trace the remaining members, conduct financial probes, and analyse digital evidence recovered during the raids, officials added.
