A 22-year-old man was Tuesday arrested for allegedly raping a British woman at Arambol in North Goa under the pretext of giving her a mud bath. The Goa police arrested Joel D’souza after an FIR under Section 376 (punishment for rape) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered against him, Shobhit Saksena, Superintendent of Police, North Goa said.
According to the police, D’souza had posed as a masseuse and lured the woman to Sweet Water Lake in Arambol under the pretext of giving her a mud bath. However, he was not a professional masseuse and had taken advantage of the woman because she was alone, added the police. The woman who was in Goa on a tourist visa had approached the UK consulate for assistance. She approached the police with officials of the consulate in Goa to file a complaint on Monday. The FIR was registered at the Pernem Police Station.
Earlier this week, the Goa police also started a crackdown on illegal massage parlours, hawkers, and touts operating in the state. On Sunday, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, who holds the home portfolio, had said, “We will take action against illegal massage parlours. I have already instructed the police department that all illegal massage parlours will be shut down from tomorrow. Only those who have a spa license and beauty parlour license, those who are registered with the health, police and tourism department, will be allowed to run. In Ayurvedic panchakarma centres, massage parlours, there should be Ayurvedic practitioners.”