British woman raped on Goa beach in front of her partner; accused arrested

Panaji: A British woman was allegedly raped near the Arambol beach in Goa in front of her male partner by a local man under the pretext of giving her a massage, police said on Tuesday.

The accused, local resident Vincent D'Souza (32), was part of a group that illegally offered massage services near the Arambol beach in North Goa district, which is quite popular with international tourists, they said.

He had also worked as a school librarian in the past, the police said. The Pernem police had arrested him on Monday.

As per the police complaint lodged by the middle-aged woman, who is on a Goa trip, the accused allegedly raped her under the pretext of giving her a massage when she was lying near the Sweet Water Lake, located close to the beach, along with her male partner, an official said.

The alleged incident had taken place on June 2, but the woman lodged the complaint at the Pernem police station on Monday after consulting her family members in the UK and seeking assistance from the British Embassy in India, he said.

Within an hour of getting the complaint, the Pernem police, led by inspector Vikram Naik, swung into action and arrested the accused, the official said.

A senior police official said the accused had also worked as a librarian at a school in the past.

"We have contacted the police station concerned to get his past records. Currently, he is not working as a librarian," the official said.

On Monday night, the accused and the victim were sent for medical examination at the district hospital in Mapusa town near here.

An FIR was registered against the accused under Indian Penal Code Section 376 (rape) and the police would produce him before a local court on Monday to seek his custody, the official said.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (Pernem) Siddhant Shirodkar is supervising the investigation into the case.