Curchorem sexual assault: Cop custody of Soham extended

Margao: The children’s court on Friday extended the police custody of Soham Naik, the prime accused in the Curchorem sexual assault case, by four days as the crime branch pressed for more time to interrogate him. With a fresh FIR registered against him on Friday, the total number of cases against the 20-year-old now stands at four.

The latest complaint has been filed by a minor girl, and police said more survivors are likely to come forward to lodge their complaints. Naik faces charges under the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act for allegedly sexually assaulting minor girls and young women, recording obscene videos and photographs, and blackmailing victims by threatening to circulate the material on social media platforms.

Soham, a resident of Madhegal, Cacora, whose father Sushant Naik is a councillor of the Curchorem-Cacora Municipal Council, was arrested following a public uproar outside the Curchorem police station. The case was subsequently transferred to the crime branch given its sensitivity and the need to protect survivors’ confidentiality. Investigation revealed that both the accused person and some of the survivors were minors at the time of the alleged incidents.

DGP Alok Kumar said on Thursday that a “fair and prompt” investigation will be done in the case and there shouldn’t be any doubt about it.

Meanwhile, a delegation of AAP led by state president Valmiki Naik met the DIG of police in Panaji on Friday and submitted a memorandum demanding a time-bound investigation in the case. AAP alleged that initial attempts were made to conceal the identity of the accused person’s father and that only lenient cybercrime sections were applied until NGOs intervened and Pocso provisions were invoked. The party demanded the resignation of councillor Sushant Naik on moral grounds.