Panaji: Goa police arrested the accused in the rape of a 15-year-old girl after the investigation was transferred to the women police station and the investigating officer (IO) was guided by the Bombay high court and advocate general Devidas Pangam on steps to win the survivor’s confidence and identify the suspect.The case was registered by Anjuna police in July against an unidentified person after the minor delivered a baby in a hospital toilet. However, the investigation stalled as the survivor and her family repeatedly refused to disclose the accused’s identity despite police efforts.Meanwhile, the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) placed the survivor and her baby in a shelter home for single mothers. The survivor’s mother approached the high court seeking custody of her daughter and grandchild. The matter came up before a division bench of Justice Valmiki Menezes and Justice Hiten Venegavkar.During the hearing, the bench noted the lack of progress in the investigation. Pangam informed the court that the probe would be transferred to the women police station in Panaji.The judges and the advocate general then briefed the IO on the approach to be adopted, including measures to build the survivor’s trust and identify the accused.In the meantime, the advocate general learnt that the survivor had revealed the name of the accused to a person close to her. The IO was informed about the development in the case and directed to speak to the caretaker and another person in the shelter home to build a rapport with the survivor.“The caretaker was able to convince her to reveal the name. The bonding between the caretaker and the survivor helped obtain the identity of the accused, who was then arrested,” a source associated with the investigation told TOI.
