Quick trials for cases involving foreigners soon

PANAJI - The Goa government is taking special steps to ensure that cases involving foreigners are tried quickly and efficiently, state chief secretary Sanjiv Srivastava said Tuesday.

Srivastava told reporters Goa was making efforts to try cases in which foreigners were involved through fast track courts.

“We will move the Panaji bench of the Bombay High Court seeking its permission to hold hearings for such cases on a daily basis at fast track courts,” Srivastava said after attending a meeting of tourism industry stakeholders, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), state home department and police officials at the secretariat here.

Referring to the rape of a nine-year-old Russian girl, Srivastava said: “Efforts were on to have the case put in fast track court. Once a chargesheet is filed, justice should be delivered quickly.”

The girl was raped at Arambol beach, 45 km from here. The police have arrested the two accused and filed a chargesheet against them.

“We also resolved that not just the Russian minor rape case but all cases related to child sexual abuse be put on fast track,” the chief secretary said.

Srivastava further said the state government would take periodic stock of the investigations and the progress in another case involving a Russian woman, who had claimed that a Goan politician had raped her.

“We will meet next after 10 days to check for the compliance of the decisions taken today (Tuesday),” Srivastava said.