By IANS,
Panaji : Stepping up the heat against Goa education minister’s son Rohit Monseratte, who is accused of raping a teenaged German girl, the state police have issued a lookout notice for him to ensure that he does not leave the country.
Rohit, son of cabinet minister Atanasio Monseratte, has been accused of raping a 14-year-old German girl. The minister has also been booked for abetment.
“We have started the process for issuing a lookout notice,” Superintendent of Police (North) Bosco George told reporters at the North District police headquarters Thursday.
A lookout notice is issued in criminal cases and is served at all exit points in the country to deter a suspect from leaving the country.
Reacting to claims Wednesday night made by the Monserattes that the victim’s unwillingness to depose before the police virtually meant no case, Bosco said that since the girl was a minor, her statement was not the only evidence that the police were banking on. “We have sufficient material with which to proceed with the case.”
He also claimed that the police had seized the mobile phone as well as the sim card on which the messages were received and they have been sent for forensic investigation. “We have also attached the passport, which proves that her age is indeed 14.”
Asked whether the police would arrest Rohit Monseratte or his father anytime soon, Bosco said that the arrests would be deferred until the girl makes a statement.
Earlier in the day, the police spent four hours recording the statement of the victim’s mother Fadela Fuchs at Bosco’s office.
Fuchs, whose criminal complaint was registered Tuesday after a 12-day delay, has claimed that 21-year-old Rohit had caused mental and physical agony to her daughter by raping her and sending lewd SMSes.
Fuchs’ complaint has had the Goa political circles churning. While Monseratte has claimed that he was being targeted by Home minister Ravi Naik, a pressure group of more than a dozen MLAs and ministers have been asking the Congress high command for a change in leadership.