A court here today framed charges against John Fernandes, a local politician accused of raping a 25-year-old Russian woman.
Sessions court Judge B P Deshpande framed charges under section 376 and 201 of IPC which deals with rape and destruction of evidence respectively. Fernandes was arrested for allegedly raping a Russian girl, whom he had met at a shack in Colva beach, in his car after spiking her drinks on December 1, 2009. The South Goa based politician was on the run after being accused of rape by the victim. An attempt to rape case was initially registered at Colva police station but the case was later handed over to the Crime Branch, which registered a rape case after taking a fresh statement from the victim, who was working in a five star resort. After a month-long hiding, John surrendered on January 6 after his anticipatory bail by District and Sessions court, which was later set aside by Panaji Bench of Bombay High Court. Police have also claimed that John destroyed crucial evidence in this case by washing his car and deposing wrong clothes to the Crime branch. The rape case had made headlines after the Russian consulate expressed strong reservations about safety of the country's citizens in Goa. The tourist state receives around 40,000 Russian visitors annually, only second to Britishers who top the chart.
