MAPUSA (GOA) — A three-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted by an unidentified person inside a dilapidated building in Mapusa in North Goa district on Sunday evening, police said on Monday, in a case that has sparked outrage in the state. A passerby found the child crying outside the building near a taxi stand in Mapusa, about 9 km from Panaji, and rushed to help her, after which locals alerted the police.

Source: PTI via The Times of Bengal

Police rushed the child, who was in a critical condition, to Mapusa District Hospital, from where she was shifted to the Goa Medical College and Hospital for further treatment, the news agency PTI reported, citing police. Superintendent of Police (North) Rahul Gupta, who rushed to the spot, said the child's condition was stable. In line with the protection owed to a minor victim, no name or identifying detail of the child is being published — only her age and district.

Case registered, manhunt under way

The girl's parents sell balloons at the roadside. The family had come to the Mapusa market selling balloons for Diwali, and the child went missing before she was found near the building, PTI reported. Mapusa police have registered a case after receiving a complaint from the child's parents. Police have launched a manhunt to trace and arrest the accused, and investigators are examining CCTV footage from the area to identify him, officials said. The assault is alleged at this stage; no arrest had been reported at the time of publishing.

Congress questions preventive policing; demand for a time-bound probe

Goa Pradesh Congress Committee president Girish Chodankar expressed shock over the alleged assault and demanded an immediate, impartial and time-bound investigation, Goa Today 24x7 reported on Monday. Chodankar said the incident took place inside an abandoned building in the heart of Mapusa, in an area where citizens and the media have reportedly raised concerns about suspicious activities, and he sought an explanation from Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, who holds the Home portfolio, on preventive measures such as police patrols and inspection of abandoned premises. These are the opposition's questions and allegations; the state government had not issued a detailed response in the reports available at the time of publishing.

Source: Goa Today 24x7

Madganvcho Awaaz youth leader Prabhav Naik also condemned the reported assault, said the child had accompanied her family to Mapusa market where they were selling balloons during the Diwali festivities, and demanded stringent action against the accused and stronger child-protection and policing measures, Gaonkaari reported. What happens next turns on the CCTV examination and the manhunt: police say identifying and arresting the accused is the immediate priority, while the opposition has said the case must not be treated as a routine investigation.

Source: Gaonkaari