Sexual assault: Goa police adopt new SOP for evidence collection, analysis

Panaji:Goa police have adopted a new standard operating procedure (SOP) for the collection and processing of scientific and forensic evidence in sexual assault cases, DGP Alok Kumar said.
The SOP seeks to provide a complete set of rules and guidelines related to the response of the investigating teams while dealing with rape cases and to ensure a coordinated and multi-disciplinary approach to sexual offences in general.
The scope of the SOP is to ensure that the investigating agencies and other stakeholders are aware of the importance of forensic evidence and how crucial it is to collect and process it in a way that ensures minimal loss and contamination.
To facilitate the proper collection, preservation, and scrutiny of samples collected during the examination of sexual assault survivors, the SOP is being issued in consonance with the significant transformation in the Indian legal system with the recent amendments and the subsequent implementation of the new criminal laws.
The SOP document is the culmination of two workshops convened in Goa by a former additional solicitor general of India, Pinky Anand, to share expertise and understanding of how forensic evidence can improve judicial outcomes for victims.
Crime against women in Goa saw a rise in 2024 compared to 2023, with 365 cases of rape, molestation, outraging of women’s modesty, and other cases registered in 2024, compared to 288 cases in 2023.
Goa police completed investigations in most of the cases, and in some cases, chargesheets were filed, while closure reports were filed in other cases due to a lack of evidence.
Recently, chief minister Pramod Sawant said that the cases are monitored and reviewed on a weekly basis under the close supervision of the respective DySPs and SPs, and suitable directions are issued for investigation.