Chargesheet filed against ex-minister Monserratte in rape case

Press Trust of India  |  Panaji 

have filed a chargesheet against former in connection with the alleged rape of a minor girl in 2016.

Monserratte, 54, has been named as an accused in the case, a senior said.

The girl, then aged 16, had filed a complaint in May 2016 alleging that the had drugged and raped her in March that year.

She had also alleged that her mother "sold" her to Monserratte for Rs 50 lakh.

Monserratte was arrested on May 5, 2016 and is out on bail.

At that time, the had claimed that he was innocent and the case against him was "politically motivated".

The girl's mother was not named in the chargesheet as there was no sufficient evidence that she sold her daughter, the said.

Monserratte has been charged under section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

He has also been booked under provisions of the Act for use of cellphone in the alleged crime, the said.

Monserratte was previously in the and served as the in the Digambar Kamat-led government between 2007 and 2012. He was later expelled from the party.

He then floated his own outfit called the United Goan Party, and on its ticket contested the state Assembly election from Panaji constituency last year but lost.

He is currently a of the Goa Forward Party, an alliance in the BJP-led state government.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Thu, July 19 2018. 10:40 IST