The family of a 30-year-old Dutch woman, who was allegedly sexually assaulted and stabbed by an employee of a resort in Goa last year, has appealed to officials at the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Mumbai, requesting their intervention “to speed up the trial” and to enquire about the case with the Indian government, The Indian Express has learnt. The woman’s father wrote an email to Bart De Jong, the Consul General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Mumbai, lamenting that the trial against the accused, who is currently out on bail, was “proceeding very slowly”. He said his daughter is still experiencing “day-by-day the effects of the assault” and “the fact that he (the accused) has not been convicted yet does not help the recovery process”. “She was almost murdered and raped by an Indian guy. More than a year ago, the accused was taken into custody, but after two months, he was free to go on bail,” he wrote on June 21. “In the meantime, the accused is free and we heard that he is working somewhere else, where he could commit the same offence… this is unacceptable. We think because we are not present in India, the case itself has not enough priority. We request your involvement in asking the Indian government the reason for the delay and trying to speed up the trial,” he wrote. Speaking to The Indian Express, he said, “Since the incident, my daughter is suffering from trauma and is undergoing therapy. She is unable to sleep properly. She is triggered when she sees the scars on her body in the mirror or if she spots a knife in the kitchen. She is only able to work a few days in a week. In the beginning, she was scared to even go out. Her main concern is that he (the accused) will get away scot-free without any consequences for the crime.” In the reply to the woman’s father, Bart De Jong, the Consul General, wrote on July 2, “It must be very frustrating for your daughter and yourself to not see any progress in your case. Although India has a sound rule of law, the judiciary can be very slow. In similar cases of protracted proceedings, Indian government authorities point to the independence of the courts and that they cannot interfere in the legal process.” The Consul General added, “Nevertheless, what we will do is inform the public prosecutor and the court in Goa about the status of the process. It will demonstrate that the case has our continued attention and might help in speeding things up. We will keep you informed of any reaction from their side.” The Indian Express reached out to Bart De Jong via email on whether they have approached the Indian government on the subject, but did not receive a response. The woman, who had been travelling through India, arrived in Goa for a yoga retreat on March 28, 2023 evening and checked into a resort. Around 2 am that night, the 28-year-old accused, who had been working a bartender-cum-waiter at the same resort, allegedly barged into the woman’s tent and tried to sexually assault her. When she shouted for help, the accused allegedly stabbed her multiple times in the abdomen and upper back with a knife. Eureco Dias, a Goan who lived nearby and had rushed to help after hearing her screams for help, was also stabbed multiple times. Goa police had arrested the accused, who hails from Uttarakhand, the next day. After the incident, Goa Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte had announced that police verification of employees of hotels and resorts, especially the ones employing people from outside the state, would be conducted. The Dutch woman had subsequently undergone treatment at a government hospital and was discharged a week later. In the chargesheet filed by Goa police in June last year, the accused was charged under several IPC sections, including 307 (attempt to murder) and 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty). On September 16, 2023, he was released on bail by a sessions court. During the bail hearing, the prosecution argued that the offence is serious in nature and the accused’s presence would be required for identification at the time of trial, and the possibility of him jumping bail could not be ruled out. The sessions court, however, said that since the investigation was complete and the accused was in judicial custody, he could be released on bail. The court had directed the accused not to leave Goa without prior permission.
