Goa, India

India’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday (August 16) suspended an Indian Police Service (IPS) official accused of molesting a woman at a night club.

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IPS Dr A Koan was serving as Deputy Inspector General (DIG) in India’s southwestern state of Goa. Last week, he was relieved of his duties and ordered to report to the state Director General of Police (DGP).

A statement released by the MHA on Wednesday read, “The President of India, in exercise of the powers conferred under Rule 3 of ALL India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969, hereby places Dr. A. Koan, IPS (AGMUT:2009) under suspension with immediate effect.”

Koan is a 2009-batch IPS officer of the AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territories) cadre.

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What happened?

According to media reports, IPS officer Koan allegedly molested a woman at a night club in Goa on August 7. A CCTV footage showing the woman engaged in a heated argument with another person accompanying the IPS officer is also circulating on social media.

A different CCTV footage showed the IPS officer walking around in the washroom in a drunken state.

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State chief minister assured 'strict action' 

NDTV quoted Goa DGP Jaspal Singh as saying that Koan “had already sent a report detailing facts to the state government". He further warned that “IPS officers should not be judged based on isolated instance of misdemeanour".

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"Don't judge officers of IPS based on isolated instance of misdemeanor. They come out of long, arduous and meticulous training to serve the nation. They have sacrificed lives at the altar of nation and are fighting terrorism, insurgency and naxalism and daily crime," he posted on X.

Additionally, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant assured of strict action against the IPS officer. 

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Such behaviour would not be tolerated, Pramod Sawant said in the state assembly on Wednesday after Goa Forward Party (GFP) MLA Vijai Sardesai raised the matter in the House.

Koan—A serial offender?

The GFP MLA also claimed that the accused IPS officer had a track record of “misbehaving with women.”

Sardesai also claimed that he can produce a video clip wherein Koan can be seen asking a staffer at a casino to “sit next to him”.

However, the legislator refused to share more details about the incident. 

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