Goa Police have arrested a 24-year-old construction labourer from Bihar in connection with the reported sexual assault of a four-year-old child in Canacona, with the incident believed to have occurred on Tuesday night. Police registered a case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Goa Children’s Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
According to Canacona police, the incident likely took place between 9.30pm and 10.30pm. The child was reportedly playing outside her parents’ room when the accused allegedly approached her and lured her on the pretext of allowing her to play on his mobile phone.
The child later returned to her mother crying, following which her parents approached Canacona police at around 2am on Wednesday. Police apprehended the accused soon afterwards and arrested him at around 4.30am, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Canacona, Nilesh Rane said.
Police identified the accused as Hussein Shaikh, who had arrived in Goa two days before the reported incident to work as a construction labourer. He was staying in a room in Canacona rented by fellow workers from Bihar, police said. The child lived nearby with her parents.
Rane said the accused was booked under Section 65(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Section 8(2) of the Goa Children’s Act and Sections 4, 8 and 12 of the Pocso Act. The child underwent a medical examination and remains with her parents. The accused was also medically examined, police said.
The accused was scheduled to be produced before the court for remand. Police said further investigation was under way. The reported case comes days after another child sexual assault case in Mapusa triggered public outrage in Goa.
Several Canacona residents condemned the incident and called for stringent action. Shubham Komarpant, a social worker and youth wing member from Canacona, urged the government to extend Pink Force patrolling to peripheral areas, rather than limiting it to beaches and marketplaces.
The police investigation and court proceedings will determine the evidence and legal findings in the case.
