Daijiworld Media Network - Vasco

Vasco, Sep 27: Verna Police have cracked a seven-month-old kidnapping case by rescuing a 16-year-old girl from Hosapete in Karnataka and arresting a 24-year-old man from Zuarinagar-Sancoale.

The case came to light on March 17, when the girl’s mother reported her missing from their residence in Zuarinagar around 2 pm. Police registered a case under Section 137(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 8 of the Goa Children’s Act, with PSI Rajdatt Arsekar leading the investigation.

According to police, the accused, identified as Motilal Walikar, allegedly took the minor first to Maharashtra and later to Karnataka, where he remained out of the police’s reach for more than seven months.

Following sustained investigation and technical surveillance, Arsekar, along with LPSI Sapna Gawas, police constables Sujay Naik and Pawan Lotlikar and LPC Akshata Hospite, traced the girl to Hosapete in Vijaypur district. She was rescued and Walikar arrested before being brought to Verna Police Station.

In her statement to police, the girl allegedly said she was beaten, tortured and sexually assaulted. She also alleged that the accused recorded videos and took nude photographs of her and threatened to make them viral.

Walikar was produced before the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC), Vasco, and remanded to nine days in police custody. Based on the girl’s statement, police added further sections under the BNS and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Further investigation is being conducted by PSI Sapna Gawas under the supervision of PI Anand Shirodkar and guidance of Mormugao DySP Gurudas Kadam.

The case remains under investigation, with police examining the allegations made by the minor and other circumstances surrounding her seven-month disappearance.