Panaji:
Preliminary inquiry into the allegations of harassment against a police inspector, who initially handled the Russian girl rape case, has ruled out any dereliction of duty by the officer, an official said.
The conduct of Colva police inspector Siddhant Shirodkar was being investigated by Deputy Superintendent of Police Umesh Gaonkar, who has given clean chit to his subordinate officer, he said.
The 25-year-old victim, in a letter to Consul General of Russian Federation in Mumbai, had alleged that Shirodkar had asked her to tone down the complaint of rape to attempt to rape. He had also allegedly warned the victim that the accused, John Fernandes, was an influential person and would get her visa cancelled.
The police department had initiated a preliminary inquiry by Gaonkar, who was asked to find the facts and furnish the report to the bosses.
Gaonkar, who submitted the inquiry details to SP (south) Allan D'Sa, has ruled out any harassment or dereliction of duty by Shirodkar, the official said. "The girl herself in the written complaint had mentioned that there was an attempt to rape her. She has not mentioned that she was raped," according to the report.
The inquiry officer took statements of various police personnel including Colva police station staff during the probe, the official said.
The victim was allegedly raped by Fernandes on December 1 near Colva beach after her drinks were spiked. The girl filed a case of rape when the case was handed over to Crime Branch on December 5, 2009.