30 rape cases reported in '08

30 rape cases reported in '08

PANAJI: There were more rape cases reported in 2008 than the previous years. In 2008, there were 30 rape cases reported as compared to 20 cases
in 2007 and 21 in 2006. Data reveals that more minors were raped as compared to majors in the state.

Statistics available with the police department show that in 2005 there were 20 cases of rape, of which 15 victims were minors while five were majors. In 2006, there were 21 cases of rape, of which 14 were minors and seven majors.

The situation was not very different in 2007 when 20 cases of rape were registered. Of these, 15 were minor victims while five were major. The number of rape cases rose to 30 in 2008, with 18 minor and 12 major victims.

Even though the rate of detection has improved, the conviction rate remains low. In 2004, about 48 persons were accused of rape. While in 2005, 33 were accused of rape, in 2006, 19 were arrested. In 2007, 24 were arrested for rape and the number increased to 39 in 2008.

In 2004, six accused were convicted in a rape case, while in 2005, only one person was convicted. The trend continued in 2006 with one person being convicted for rape. In 2007, two persons were convicted for rape. In 2008, there was not a single conviction of rape, the records revealed.


13 Apr 2009, The Times of India, Goa edition

Rape victim's father says she won't be safe at home

Rape victim's father says she won't be safe at home
TNN
PANAJI: The father of the minor girl, who was raped by a police constable and two of his friends for about three months, visited his daughter at
Apna Ghar on Sunday but refused to take her back home.

He said, "After I told Apna Ghar authorities that I was worried about my daughter's safety and life, they insisted that I take her back home. But I when I asked them to put it in writing, they refused."

The father said that Apna Ghar authorities insisted that he take his daughter home saying that she was fighting with everyone and beating up girls at Apna Ghar.

"When they said that I should take her home, I told them that I would have no option but to go to the police for help," the girl's father disclosed.

The dismayed father reiterated that his daughter was not safe with him at home as the accused were out on bail and had even threatened him.

The minor was allegedly raped by a 23-year-old police constable Shamba alias Dipak Jhalmi, attached to the Indian Reserve Battalion, and his accomplices. They were arrested for allegedly sexually exploiting the girl for over three months.

This incident has shocked and surprised several child activists. "When a parent can't protect a child and the child is in a vulnerable state, then it is the responsibility of the state to protect and provide a safe environment for the child. That's the reason Apna Ghar has been set up. When the father is expressing his inability to provide a safe environment for his daughter at home then it is the responsibility of the Child Welfare Committee members to ensure the safety of the girl," said Arun Pandey of Anyay Rahit Zindagi, an NGO.

Matthew Kurian of El Shaddai Charitable Trust said, "The Child Welfare committee should act positively and professionally, and work towards providing a child-friendly and healthy atmosphere at Apna Ghar. CWC has no right to force the child on the helpless parent."

Surprisingly, director of Children's Rights Goa, an NGO, Nishtha Desai, who is handling the girl's case, is strangely maintaining silence.

She first claimed that she was not aware of the matter. Later she said, "I don't want to comment. We work on several issues without speaking to the media."

16 March,2009, The Times of India, Goa edition