Goa Police swift on Tejpal case, but slow on Assagao murder (Herald)

December 16, 2013 Given the precise and methodical investigations into the sexual assault case involving Tehelka founder Tarun Tejpal, Goa Police has ably displayed acumen, tenacity and the wherewithal to tackle crimes in the State. However, compare the Tejpal case with another crime in Assagao earlier this year. Both cases involved a heinous crime against a woman in the State and both perpetrators were quickly identified. While Tejpal was arrested within days of the FIR, Goa Police is yet to locate the accused in the Assagao case for almost a year. According to police reports, Rekha Karath (19) of Sanquelim had just begun her first job on New Year’s Day, when she was lured by Ranjit Tuyekar (26) of Muddi-Anjuna to meet him at an isolated spot in Assagao on January 17. Tuyekar is alleged to have brutally murdered Karath at the spot, before fleeing from the site. Tuyekar was quickly identified by police and was even reportedly spotted along the Siolim-Mapusa road on January 29. Sources also admitted that Tuyekar was even confronted by a police constable near Sangod-Siolim, but Tuyekar managed to escape. Admitting that they are yet to locate Tuyekar, Anjuna Police Inspector Paresh Naik told Herald, “He was a vagabond who would stay in the jungle or in beach areas. His mother was also least bothered about his whereabouts. Tuyekar is a drug addict and a peddler, who has a case booked against him at Anjuna in 2010.” “When I took over this police station on October 22, I sent police teams to Sawantwadi, Sattara, Aronda, Kudal, Dodamarg, Bedeshi, Insuli, Banda, Ramnagar, Kanapur, Gokarna and other sites popular for rave parties, besides alerting border check posts, railway stations and airports across the country. We also review this case every month,” said PI Naik. A visit to the victim’s residence at Sanquelim was futile as the family was out of station. A neighbour, however, described Karath as a quiet and poor girl who had begun her first job as a salesgirl at a shop in Mapusa, after having passed her SSC. “The family is still in shock over the brutal murder and the mother never returned to Sanquelim after the incident. The father stays alone in the house,” the neighbour added. When contacted, North Goa SP Priyanka Kashyap insisted that the police have not given up on the case. “Since I took over on August 22, I have been following the case. It is not as if efforts have stopped from our side and the police will continue to search the accused. There has been no lapse or lag from our side.” Refusing to draw comparisons between the Tehelka sexual assault case and the Assagao murder case, SP Kashyap stated that Tuyekar has been absconding but Tejpal did not avoid the police. “We want to nab the accused in the Assagao murder case and I think it’s only a matter of time before we nab him,” said Kashyap. Even though the Assagao murder case was widely reported at the time, Goa State Women’s Commission Chairperson Vidhya Shet Tanavade said she was unaware about the case and decline to comment in the matter. “I took over the commission only in March and the murder had taken place in January. I did not know about this case and Herald is the first to bring it to my notice. I need to get the investigation report from the police and study it. Till then, I cannot comment on this issue,” she said. http://www.heraldgoa.in/News/Local%20News/Goa-Police-swift-on-Tejpal-case-but-slow-on-Assagao-murder/83244.html