Goa: Babush Monserrate booked for allegedly raping a minor, surrenders

Goa lawmaker Atanasio alias Babush Monserrate, who has been accused of raping a minor girl from his constituency, surrendered before the state police on 5 May.

Babush has been booked for human trafficking.

According to an NDTV report, the 16-year-old victim has alleged that she was sold to the lawmaker by her step mother.

According to the complaint, the Goan lawmaker raped the girl multiple times. "The next morning i woke up without my clothes, covered in blood, he was sitting without his clothes on," NDTV quoted the victim as saying.

The victim was employed at a Hallmark store owned by Monserrate. However, she was sacked for theft from the store's cash counter, the lawmaker alleged.

When asked about the allegations, Monserrate said the girl's parents requested him to employ their daughter. NDTV also quoted the former education minister as denying the accusation and terming the incident as a conspiracy.

Monserrate is an elected candidate from the St Cruz constituency seat of Goa Assembly. He won the elections on a Congress ticket. However, the party has sacked him for his alleged connections with the Bharatiya Janata Party. He has also been previously booked in an extortion case.