Amid criticism from political rivals over his comments following the gang-rape of two girls, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has said he was "deeply pained and disturbed" by the incidents.
ANI reported on Friday morning that Sawant had said, "My statement about unfortunate incident was taken out of context. Both as head of a responsible government and as a father of a 14-yr-old daughter, I was deeply pained and disturbed. Pain of this incident is inexplicable."
Referring to the incident of gang-rape of two minor girls on a beach, Sawant had said in the Assembly on Wednesday, "When 14-year-olds stay on the beach the whole night, the parents need to introspect. Just because children don't listen, we cannot put the responsibility on the government and police."
Defending himself, Sawant said, "At no point, I've tried to deny the right to security provided by our law. Goa Police has been truly professional force especially when it comes to security of women and children. They have already acted swiftly and arrested the accused."
Sawant assured his government would pursue stringent punishment for the culprits. He was quoted by ANI as saying, "Let me assure you that I shall ensure that the culprits get the most stringent punishment under the law. The safety of our citizens is always my government's top priority."
Four men, one of them a driver with the agriculture department, allegedly posed as policemen and raped two girls after beating up the boys who were with them on Benaulim beach on July 25. All the accused have been arrested.
The opposition had lashed out at Sawant for his remarks on Wednesday.
State Congress spokesperson Altone D'Costa said the law and order situation has deteriorated in Goa. "Why should we fear while moving around at night? Criminals should be in jail. and law-abiding citizens should be out freely moving around,” he said.
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Goa Forward Party MLA Vijai Sardesai said the safety of citizens is the responsibility of police and government. "If they can't provide it to us, the CM has no right to sit in the post,” he said.
“It is shocking that @goacm is blaming parents for allowing their children to venture out in the night claiming that it is not safe. if State govt can't assure us our security, who can give it? Goa has a history of being safe state for women, that tag is being lost in @BJP4Goa rule," independent MLA Rohan Khaunte tweeted.
(With PTI inputs)
