Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji
Panaji, Nov 5: Old Goa police on Wednesday arrested suspended police inspector Vikas Deykar (40) and co-accused Rajani Palekar (37), a resident of Vasco, in connection with the alleged sexual assault of a minor.
Old Goa police had registered the case on September 30, following which Deykar was suspended the next day. However, he had not been arrested until Tuesday, prompting activists Sabina Martins and Auda Veigas to criticise the delay.
Until November 3, Old Goa police had only summoned Deykar and recorded his statements.
On Wednesday morning, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, who also holds the Home portfolio, assured reporters that Deykar would be arrested in connection with the alleged sexual assault of a 16-year-old girl.
“Investigation is on; he will be arrested,” Sawant said.
Deykar was finally arrested on Wednesday afternoon and taken for a medical examination as part of the procedure. In an unusual move, however, the gates of Old Goa police station were closed when he was brought there after his arrest, preventing reporters from entering.
In a statement, police said Deykar and Palekar were arrested due to their alleged non-cooperation with the investigation.
“Both accused had earlier joined the investigation pursuant to notices issued. During further interrogation, material inconsistencies were noticed in their statements, and both of them failed to provide satisfactory explanations regarding crucial aspects of the case. Considering the material collected during investigation, their alleged involvement in the offence, lack of cooperation, necessity of custodial interrogation and apprehensions regarding possible influencing of witnesses and tampering with evidence, both accused were placed under arrest today,” the police statement said.
The minor had lodged a complaint alleging that Deykar sexually assaulted her inside his Crime Branch cabin on two occasions this year — once in July and again in October.
Palekar was allegedly seen in CCTV footage bringing the girl to the Crime Branch office. During the investigation, police also found that Deykar had covered the cameras in his cabin while the minor was inside, while Palekar allegedly waited outside.