British women raped in Goa, accused flees with belongings

Panaji, Dec 20: A British woman was raped in Goa's Canacona town and was also robbed of her belongings. The incident took place around 4 am in Canacona town, located about 100 km from Panaji.

The woman was reportedly walking back to her room from the Canacona railway station with her luggage when the accused accosted her on the road leading to Palolem. The accused allegedly pushed the woman into the fields and raped her.

The incident took place in the wee hours of Thursday.

"The woman complained to the police that while she was walking from the Canacona railway station towards the beach, an unidentified person forcibly took her to a roadside where he raped her," police inspector Rajendra Prabhudesai told PTI.

The woman had gone to catch a train from Canacona to Thivim station located in North Goa district. But, as the train got delayed, she decided to return to the place where she was staying near the Palolem beach, he said.

"The accused, who saw the woman walking alone, pushed her to a paddy field on the roadside near a telecom company's office. He first hit her in the eyes, due to which her vision blurred for a few minutes, and then raped her," the police official said quoting the complaint.

The accused later fled while taking away three bags of the woman, he said.

A search was on for the culprit, he said, adding that some suspects from the area were being rounded up.

Prabhudesai said the woman had been regularly visiting Goa for the last 10 years. Canacona taluka in South Goa is a tourism hub with popular beaches like Agonda and Palolem.

OneIndia News with PTI inputs