2010 A TOUGH YEAR FOR GOA POLICE

PANJIM: 2010 proved to be a year with more ‘downs’ than ‘ups’ for the state police.  The big blow came in the form of a video tape uploaded on ‘Youtube’ which exposed alleged links between drug dealers and personnel who had served in the Anti-Narcotics Cell.

Six policemen attached to it were then suspended for alleged nexus with the drug peddlers.

The Superintendent of Police, ANC, Mr Vinu Bansal, claimed to have restored the public faith and respect after arresting some big names in the drug trade like Dravid Draham alias Dudu, Sadanand Chimulkar alias Bhui and Yaniv Benaim alias Atala by the Crime Branch.

Finally, the SP preferred to move out of the state for the reasons better known to him.

The year that saw the Crime Branch arresting the former tourism minister, Mr Francis Xavier Pacheco alias Mickky for his alleged role in the Nadia Torrado murder case, who died after consuming rattol, also saw Ajay Kaushal, an NRI dying mysteriously in Sada sub-jail in Vasco.

The police inspector from Calangute Mr Raposo was shunted to Goa Reserve Police for not adhering to the laid norms while raiding premises and taking into custody around 30 beauticians linked to the beauty parlours in Anjuna, Calangute and Porvorim on suspicion of being involved in a flesh trade. The beauticians hailed from Nagaland and Manipur

The police inspector from Crime Branch, Ms Sunita Sawant proved to be smarter than her counterparts and sealed the premises, allegedly used for prostitution and brought the pimps to book.

The Panjim police inspector, Mr Sandesh Chodankar bust some gangs of motorcycle thieves and recovered some stolen motorcycles from their possession and returned them to their owners after completing the necessary formalities.

A constable attached to the Foreigners’ Registration Office was suspended after two foreigners lodged a complaint with the Director General of Police, Mr Bhim Sain Bassi, accusing him of taking Rs 80,000 under the pretext of paying it to an advocate for extension of visa.

The Porvorim police did a commendable job by arresting a gang of robbers and recovering stolen goods from their possession before the victim could lodge a complaint in this direction.

The Superintendent of Police, Mr Atmaram Deshpande, was served with a memo for speaking to the press as a PRO. The dual police inspector strategy at the Panjim town police station and some other police stations failed to yield results — the police inspector, Mr Francisco Corte who was posted at the Panjim police station had to be transferred to Old Goa.

The director of animal husbandry, P K Patidar was trapped red- handed for taking bribe of Rs 15,000 from a grass supplier Vivekanand Naik by the vigilance director, Mr Bosco George but till date no action has been initiated in the case.