Goa: British Woman Raped In Front Of Partner On Arambol Beach, Accused Arrested

The accused, allegedly raped the woman on pretext of giving her massage, was part of a group that illegally offered massage services near the Arambol beach in North Goa district, as per the police.

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New Delhi: The Goa Police on Tuesday said that a British woman was allegedly raped near the Arambol beach in Goa in front of her male partner by a local man under the pretext of giving her a massage. 

The accused — Vincent D'Souza (32) —  a local resident was arrested by the Pernem police on Monday.

As per the police, he was part of a group that illegally offered massage services near the Arambol beach in North Goa district, which is quite popular with international tourists, they said.

The police added that D’Souza had also worked as a school librarian in the past.

According to the police complaint lodged by the middle-aged woman, who is on a Goa trip, the accused allegedly raped her under the pretext of giving her a massage when she was lying near the Sweet Water Lake, located close to the beach, along with her male partner, an official said, reported the news agency. 

The alleged incident had taken place on June 2, but the woman lodged the complaint at the Pernem police station on Monday after consulting her family members in the UK and seeking assistance from the British Embassy in India, he said.

The police swung into action after the case was registered and within an hour of getting the complaint, the Pernem police, led by inspector Vikram Naik, arrested the accused, the official said.

We have contacted the police station concerned to get his past records. Currently, he is not working as a librarian, the official said.

The accused and the victim were sent for a medical examination on Monday at the district hospital in Mapusa town near Panaji.

An FIR was registered against the accused under Indian Penal Code Section 376 (rape) and the police would produce him before a local court on Monday to seek his custody, the official said.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (Pernem) Siddhant Shirodkar is supervising the investigation into the case.