Panaji, May 3 (IANS) The rape of a 25-year-old Russian woman at a beach resort in Goa last week and the inability of the police to nab the culprit was a matter of shame, state Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar said on Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a tourism event, Parulekar also criticised the functioning of the home ministry, headed by Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar.
He said police were reluctant to investigate "certain cases" and the government needed to crack the proverbial whip.
"The rape of the Russian woman is a matter of shame. Police should have acted quickly. I do not look after the home department and I, as tourism minister, will move a note to the home department seeking that the inquiry be conducted as soon as possible and taken to the logical conclusion," Parulekar said.
Five days after the rape of the tourist in her hotel room at the beach village of Morjim, 30 km from Panaji, police have been unable to nab the accused.
The woman accused the owner of the beach resort in the police complaint.
Speaking to IANS, officials from the Russian consulate in Mumbai as well as the honorary Russian consul in Goa have maintained that police had not formally contacted them and informed them about the rape.
Parulekar said the rape dented the image of Goa as a beach tourism destination.
"Definitely our name will be spoilt, there is no doubt about it... If such an incident occurs, our home department should be alert. In certain cases, they are reluctant. If police is reluctant, we need to crack the whip," he said.
Goa is one of the top beach tourism destinations in the country and attracts nearly half a million foreign tourists, of which a large chunk are travellers from Russia.
