TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: An Israeli drug peddler made an abortive attempt to escape from the Institute of Psychiatric and Human Behaviour (IPHB) by attacking one of the two constables attached with Vasco escort cell with pepper spray, on Thursday morning. Twenty-year-old Nariya Bendavid, who pre-planned the escape bid with an American citizen, was arrested after a nearly two-hour long chase near the Mollem forest.
It was at about 11 am when constables Samir Gaonkar and Vikas Chimulkar brought the prisoner to IPHB for a routine medical checkup, in a police van. Minutes later, a foreign national –who was later identified as Naftali Samuel– approached the constables requesting to meet Bendavid.
At the same moment, Samuel attacked both constables with pepper spray, pushed them and fled on a motorbike GA-03-AC-0467 which he parked close to the building. They ran towards GMC complex in search of the taxi which Samuel had hired to escape to Karnataka,” Superintendent of Police Umesh Gaonkar told Herald.
Chimulkar chased the bike and pulled down Samuel but was once against attacked with pepper spray. Despite suffering serious eye irritation, each of the two constables managed to flag down a van and drag Samuel back to GMC where the latter physically assaulted Chimulkar.
“Public, who witnessed the incident, raised an alarm and caught Samuel while Bendavid escaped on the bike,” Gaonkar added.
The accused took the internal road from Bambolim to Old Goa and reached Farmagudi. Since the wireless message informing about the escape and the motorbike number was sent to all the police stations, police personnel were deployed at routes where the accused was likely to take, to cross the Goa border.
Ponda Traffic Police Inspector Nilesh Dhaigodkar, who was driving his personal car noticed the bike and began to chase while simultaneously informing the police about the location. “He chased him from Bythokhol-Borim circle towards Bethora-Kerya Khandepar road. He abandoned the bike and got into the forest,” another officer said.
A highway patrolling van intercepted him near Murdi Khandepar road at Opa Khandepar junction. Collem Police Insector Jivba Dalvi and his team assisted Dhaigodkar in the chase and finally caught the accused.
Two constables Siddhant Naik and Chetan Gaude, who were among other team members were attacked by the accused.
The foreign nationals duo are now in the custody of the Agassaim police station where they were being interrogated till late Thursday night.
Bendavid, currently in judicial custody, was arrested this January for possessing popular party drug LSD valued at Rs.20.60 lakh at Arambol. He had come to Goa on a tourist visa and was living at Chapora until his arrest in the drugs case.
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North SP Umesh Gaonkar said they have registered a case of criminal conspiracy against the two foreign nationals. The Goa registration taxi, which was hired by the American, was traced in Bambolim. The taxi had luggage of the two accused. The taxi driver, whose identity was kept under wraps, was being quizzed to check if he was involved in the escape bid.
