Czech woman tourist assaulted in Goa; accused held within 24 hours

A 22-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly assaulting a woman tourist from the Czech Republic at Agonda Beach in Goa's Kushavati district, police said on Thursday. The incident took place around 10.15 am on February 9 at Agonda Cliff, where the accused allegedly picked up an argument with the tourist and assaulted her with fists and a stone, causing grievous injuries, they said. A complaint was filed at Canacona police station on February 10, following which an offence was registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 117-2 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt). It was immediately not clear what triggered the argument. ''At the time of the incident, the identity of the accused was unknown and we had only a faint description provided by the victim. Despite limited inputs, our team launched an intensive investigation,'' a senior police official said. He said the police team, led by inspector Praveen Gawas under the supervision of Sub-Divisional Police Officer Nilesh Rane, tracked the attacker's movements. ''Based on sustained field efforts and technical analysis, we identified and arrested the accused, Rohan Velip (22), a resident of Benordem, Balli, on Wednesday. During interrogation, he admitted to his involvement in the crime,'' the official said. Further investigation into the case is underway, he added.