The sex scandal in Goa in which the son of a BJP councillor is accused of raping minor girls, filming their obscene videos and circulating those involves more than 100 victims and the police were initially reluctant to register a case, the state’s Congress chief Amit Patkar said on Saturday.

Soham, 20, son of Sushant Naik, a member of the Curchorem Municipal Council in south Goa, was arrested on March 21 in four cases filed under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, Goa Children's Act, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act.

"The number of victims exceeds 100,” Patkar alleged at a media conference during a protest march organised by the Goa Pradesh Mahila Congress Committee.

“The accused had been perpetrating the crime for the last three years. This sex scandal is much bigger than what it is being made out to be."

Patkar claimed the minor girls are from places like Curchorem, Margao, Vasco da Gama and Ponda, adding there is an urgent need to provide counselling to them to ensure they do not take any extreme step under pressure.

"The accused turned 21 this week. It means he was involved in the crime since he was 17-18. The Curchorem police were initially reluctant to register the case and did so only after pressure from local residents,” Patkar said.

“Why have Goa State Women's Commission, Goa State Commission for Protection of Child Rights and state education department not swung into action as yet?”

An official of the Goa police’s crime branch, which is investigating the case, told PTI that three girls have come forward with complaints so far.

"Efforts are underway to encourage more victims to file complaints,” the official said. “The exact number of victims can be ascertained only after the investigation is completed.”