CPI(M) leader held in Goa on molestation charge

The Goa Police have arrested CPI(M) Mangalapuram area secretary Vinod Kumar for allegedly molesting a 37-year-old woman after luring her to Goa on the pretext of procuring a Portuguese passport for her. He has since been remanded in judicial custody for 14 days.

Victim’s complaint

The accused allegedly molested the victim at a hotel in Goa on Tuesday, after which the victim complained to the police.

“We have booked him under Sections 354, 354(A) 506 (ii) of Indian Penal Code (IPC). The accused is a former CPI(M) councillor from Thiruvananthpuram,” police inspector in-charge of the Margao police station Kapil Nayak said.

The victim, who was known to the accused, had travelled with him from Kerala after the latter promised to arrange a Portuguese passport for her to facilitate travel to Europe. Portuguese laws allow residents of Goa, an erstwhile Portuguese colony, whose parents and grandparents were born in Portuguese-Goa, to obtain Portuguese passports for themselves.

Benefits of passport

A Portuguese passport and nationality allows those Goans who get it to get jobs in Europe without a work visa, amd provides ease of passage in European countries with visa-free entry in almost 178 countries.

It has been major outmigration route chosen by Goans.

In the First Information Report, the victim said that after they booked into the hotel, the accused started molesting her and even tore her clothes.