Canacona: Just days after the reported rape of a toddler in Mapusa sparked public outrage, another case involving a four-year-old has been reported in Canacona. Police said the incident likely occurred between 9.30pm and 10.30pm on Tuesday night.Canacona police registered an FIR and arrested Hussein Shaikh (24), a Bihar native who, police said, had arrived in Goa only two days earlier to work as a construction labourer.Deputy superintendent of police (DySP), Canacona, Nilesh Rane said the accused was staying in a room in Canacona rented by fellow workers from Bihar. The child lived nearby with her parents and was playing outside their room on Tuesday night.Police said the accused noticed the child and lured her on the pretext of letting her play on his phone. After the assault, the child returned to her mother crying. Her parents approached Canacona police around 2am on Wednesday. Police apprehended the accused soon after and arrested him around 4.30am. He will be produced before the court for remand, police said.Rane said the accused was arrested under Sections 65(2) of the BNS 2023, 8(2) of the Goa Children’s Act, and Sections 4, 8, and 12 of the Pocso Act.The survivor underwent a medical examination and is with her parents. The accused was also medically examined. Police said further investigation is under way.Meanwhile, several Canacona residents condemned the crime and urged govt to take stringent action. Shubham Komarpant, a social worker and youth wing member from Canacona, said the govt should deploy its Pink Force to intensify patrolling in peripheral areas as well, not just at beaches and marketplaces.
