times news networkPanaji: Old Goa police on Wednesday arrested suspended police inspector Vikas Deykar (40) and co-accused Rajani Palekar (37), a resident of Vasco, in the case of sexual assault of a minor.Old Goa police had registered the case on Sept 30 and Deykar was subsequently suspended the following day. However, he had not been arrested until Tuesday, leading to criticism from activists Sabina Martins and Auda Veigas over the delay.Old Goa police had only summoned Deykar and recorded his statements until Nov 3.Chief minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday morning, responding to reporters’ query, assured that Deykar would be arrested in connection with an alleged sexual assault case involving a 16-year-old minor. “Investigation is on; he will be arrested,” said Sawant, who also holds the home portfolio.On Wednesday afternoon, Deykar was finally arrested and taken for medical examination as part of the procedure. However, in an unusual move, Old Goa police station gates were shut when Deykar was brought in after the arrest, keeping reporters out.In a statement, police said that Deykar and Palekar were arrested due to non-cooperation during investigations.“Both accused had earlier joined the investigation pursuant to notices issued. During further interrogation, material inconsistencies were noticed in their statements, and both of them failed to provide satisfactory explanations regarding crucial aspects of the case. Considering the material collected during investigation, their alleged involvement in the offence, lack of cooperation, necessity of custodial interrogation and apprehensions regarding possible influencing of witnesses and tampering with evidence, both accused were placed under arrest today,” read the statement.Deykar was arrested after the minor filed a complaint stating that she was sexually assaulted by him in his crime branch cabin on two occasions this year, once in July and later in Oct. Palekar was seen in CCTV footage bringing the girl to the crime branch office.Later during investigations, Deykar was found to have covered cameras in his cabin when the minor was inside, while Palekar waited outside.
