On 14th January it will be a year that the 7 year old little Vasco girl from was mercilessly raped in broad day light in the toilet of Deep Vihar School run by the Mormugao Port Trust where she was studying in the second standard. Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has to date not cared to visit the victim and her grieving family. The reasons are obvious. It is appalling that he has dared to show such insensitivity and high-handedly ensured that the case was hushed up.
While we reflect on this horrifying case we cannot skip those lines of the American country music singer and song writer Martina McBride “A statue stands in a shaded place An angel girl with an upturned face A name is written on a polished rock A broken heart that the world forgot” Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar may have coerced the police to burn the midnight oil in the Tarun Tejpal case, but in the Vasco rape case he ensured that with his political blessings the investigation was totally botched up with a sole intent to hush up the case to protect the rapist and his accomplice. The Chief Minister later conveniently washed his hands off by belatedly handing over the bungled investigation to the CBI. While the little girl and her grief stricken parents relentlessly quest for justice, the alleged rapist and his accomplice are still free birds possibly scouting for their next catch. From the pre-planned manner in which the little girl was raped it is abundantly clear that it was not the rapist’s first rape and won’t be his last. It is an undisputed fact that the Headmistress and the teachers had seen the rapist in the school premises before the crime was committed. Their failure to ensure that he was evicted from the school premises led to the little girl being ruthlessly raped. The Headmistress thus failed to ensure a safe environment for the child as required by the Goa Children’s Act. It is also an acknowledged fact that the Headmistress and the staff did not inform the police for three hours about the crime while they merrily washed away all the vital evidence. All this was gross acts of omission by the Headmistress and staff which should have been grounds to nail them as abettors of that ghastly crime. The little girl identified the picture of the rapist as well as that of his accomplice. Everyone is aware of what transpired on that fateful day and the dubious unpardonable role of the Headmistress and the other teachers in washing up and destroying all the evidence after that rape. Under directions of top ruling politicians the Goa Police systematically muted up the case. Goa has been witnessing a huge spurt of rapes on minor children. Seeing the Vasco rapist scot free, must be only emboldening many other rapists to rape without fear. Only victims of injustice know the trauma they have to undergo and in Vasco rape case the trauma inflicted upon the victim and her poor parents has been appalling. For them there has been no “Vijay” despite their all out “Sankalp” to nail the rapist who wounded their little daughter for life. Aires Rodrigues T1 - B30, Ribandar Retreat Ribandar - Goa - 403006 Mobile: 9822684372