A YEAR FULL OF SHAMS FOR LAW AND ORDER IN GOA

PANJIM: In the run up to the golden jubilee celebration of its liberation from Portuguese rule, Goa had its share of shame on law and order front.

While the year started with one of the biggest arrest in form of International drug dealer David Driham alias Dudu, the year ended with a police officer being awarded with Chief Minister’s gold medal on Liberation Day who ironically is alleged of having links with drug mafia.

The award to Policeman Chandrakant Salgaonkar has not been taken in good taste with political parties alleging Government of shielding drug dealers. BJP spokesman Govind Parvatkar even said that it speaks volumes of ‘the Congress-led Government’s character’.

After much bad press for the goof up in handling British teenager Scarlet Eden Keeling death case in 2008, the state saw police department stooping to the lowest level.

Seven policemen were arrested after their alleged involvement in selling drugs to Israeli drug peddler Yaniv Benaim alias Atala was exposed by Swedish model Lucky Farmhouse through her tapes shot on a spy camera, in February 2010.

Atala became household name within few days as one after another policemen including Police Inspector Ashish Shirodkar went to jail in the month of March.

Suspended police officials - inspector Ashish Shirodkar, sub-inspector Punaji Gawas, head constable Shaikh Hussain and constables Saish Pokle, Sanjay Parab, Sandeep Parab and Ramchandra Kankonkar are facing charges of corruption and conspiracy in the drugs case.

The Home Department plunged into shame as it was unearthed that over 200 kg charas stored in highly protected police locker went missing. Crime Branch was assigned the job to investigate this case, which was of high-profile nature as Atala was allegedly connected to Home Minister Ravi Naik’s son Roy.

Much to the disgust of police force, Crime Branch too left so many loopholes in the entire case that Atala managed to get a bail and jump it too and all the seven policemen also breathed freedom.

The Bombay High Court at Goa passed severe strictures on the state police for handling the case ineffectively. But none of the police officers were penalised and the Home Ministry maintained that they have sought Interpol’s assistant to get Atala back in India.

The shame continued for the Crime Branch throughout the year when they again goofed up in investigating death of 28-year-old Nadia Torrado, friend of former Tourism Minister Francisco (Mickky) Pacheco.

Although police arrested Pacheco and made him to spend a fortnight behind bars, nothing seems to have worked for the investigation of this case. Crime Branch officials are yet to recover basic things like Nadia’s mobile and laptop, which they claim are missing.

Nadia had died a fortnight after consuming poison at her Fatorda residence in May 29, 2010. Her closeness to Pacheco created huge controversy and the minister had to step down from Digambar Kamat cabinet.

The minister is said to have spend several crores for her treatment at Goa, Mumbai and Chennai hospitals. The expense also included chartered-ambulance to transport the lady from one hospital to another before she finally succumbed at Chennai Apollo.

Minister’s OSD Lyndon Monteiro, Nadia’s mother Sonia and her brothers also came under police scanner for allegedly destroying certain evidences linked to the death.

The year started with the shameful news of nine-year-old Russian girl being sexually abused at Arambol beach by two outsiders from Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

The incident which occurred on January 26 reminded the world about Scarlet’s death whose bruised semi-nude corpse was found on Anjuna shore on February 18, 2008.

In case of the rape on nine-year-old Russian girl, police were prompt enough to prosecute both the accused. But Goa Children’s Court released them on benefit of doubt. Again, a question mark was raised on the kind of investigation; Goa Police have done in this case.

Throughout the year, South Goa-based politician John Fernandes remained behind bars after he was arrested in December 2009 for raping a Russian girl.

His frequent bail pleas stood rejected by the court, which has recently registered statement of the victim, who had gone to Russia to attend to her mother and came back to cooperate with the Court proceedings.
The major relief for the entire year was arrest of Dudu. The drug lord was arrested with cocktail of narcotics worth over Rs three lakh at Anjuna.

Dudu’s arrest had also exposed the nexus between drug peddlers and policemen but state police failed to follow up the matter. It also exposed how few journalists were on a ‘pay role’ of this drug peddler.

The Israeli drug baron remains to be behind bars in the narcotics case. He has been sentenced to mere two-day imprisonment for illegally staying in Goa while police have chargesheeted him under Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.

The State Police also got a beating when serial killer Mahanand Naik who has been prosecuted in 18 cases of rapes, murders and robberies was acquitted in seven cases, this year.

He has however been sentenced to seven years imprisonment in the rape of his wife’s 23-year-old friend for three years between 2006 and 2009. Naik was arrested in April 2009 in a case of rape of his wife’s 23-year-old friend after which he allegedly confessed to a series of offenses from 1994 to 2009.