Lure of cell proves tragic for Ponda girl

Lure of cell proves tragic for Ponda girl
Rapists Took Her To Hotel With Promise Of A Phone, Dress
Preetu Nair | TNN

Ponda: It was a picture she may never have visualised—that her desire for a mobile phone with camera would make her pay so heavy a price.
On Saturday morning, the 14-year-old called up Pritesh Nageshkar, 23, a regular visitor to her school, from a PCO at Ponda bus stand. He had promised to take her to Panaji’s Miramar beach.
However, Pritesh told the girl that three of his friends would be accompanying him, and she objected.
“He then promised to gift me a mobile phone and a new churidaar. I always wanted a mobile with camera as no one in my family has a camera,” said the standard VII student.
The minor said that as the boys appeared friendly, she didn’t object when they took her in a car to a hotel. “But once in the room, three of them raped me. When I resisted and struggled, they threatened to kill me if opened my mouth. I cried that it was painful, but they refused to listen,” she said.
According to the girl, she was taken to a hotel at Kundaim on the Ponda-Panaji highway, Ponda PI Manjunath Dessai said. She claims she was raped in the hotel and later dumped outside it.
Apart from Pritesh, the police have arrested Abhinay Naik, 25, and Nikhil Marathe, 24, for alleged rape. Dheep Fernandes, 21, has been arrested for driving the group to the hotel and later picking them up. All the boys are from Ponda. Investigations continue in rape of 14-yr-old
Ponda: Police are investigating what happened between Saturday morning, when a 14-year-old Ponda girl left home for school, and S u n d ay eve n i n g , when she re t u r n e d home, and alleged that she had been raped. They suspect the girl was with the accused all along as she was picked up from Ponda bus stand on Saturday morning.
Police say there might have been a struggle between the victim and the accused as the mirror in a Kundaim hotel room in which she was allegedly raped was found broken. The girl’s father, a watchman, said she had left home at 7.15 am on Saturday in her school uniform. When she didn’t return home from school, which is just 5 km away, till late in the evening, the family lodged a missing complaint.
“After she returned home at about 11.30 pm on Sunday, we were shocked to know what had happened to her and decided to lodge a police complaint,” he said. “My wife is in a state of shock and is refusing to eat. Her blood pressure has dropped,” he added.
Manager of the hotel, Deepak Prabhu, said two rooms were booked at about 5.30 pm on Sunday by a person named Nikhil Marathe from Usgao, Ponda. They initially wanted to book only one room, but as there were four persons we insisted that he take two. We also asked for his photo identity. Initially, he was reluctant but gave us his driving license. We kept this with us till the four checked out at 7 pm.”

October 8,2008, The Times of India, Goa edition