Cops and peddlers
Amazing, is it not, that our police find it so easy to catch 19-year-old students from Andhra Pradesh carrying just 10 grams of Ganja, but are so hard put to hold on to large-scale drug peddlers who have strong connections to tainted policemen and powerful politicians? On Monday 23 August, the day when Goa Police arrested a 19-year-old smoking a joint on Colva Beach with just 10 grams of Ganja (Marijuana) in his pocket, they also let it be known that Israeli drug dealer Yaniv Benahim alias Atala – out on bail in the celebrated Drug Mafia-Cop-Politician Nexus case – was ‘missing’.
Atala was arrested after his former girlfriend, Lucky Amori alias Farmhouse, posted a video on YouTube of the drug dealer boasting about his connections with the police. Seven policemen, including an Inspector were also arrested in the case. All were released on bail. Significantly, the bail given to Atala and his cop accomplices has not been challenged in a higher court.
Leader of the Opposition Manohar Parrikar and the ruling Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) have asked that the case be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). They suspect that Roy Naik, the son of Home Minister Ravi Naik, is involved in the case.
The politics behind these demands is of no interest to us, nor is it material to the case. But is it not curious that the police have not challenged the bail given to their fellow cops and Atala? In every other high profile case in recent times, police have gone in appeal when bail has been granted. Why not in this case?
Curiouser still is the fact that they did not keep an eye on Atala. The Israeli drug dealer was required to report to the Investigating Officer as and when required for investigations. But it seems, since his release, he was called to the Crime Branch just once, on 7 July. The next time they called him was 7 August, when he failed to turn up. Police investigations have shown that he checked out of his hotel on 13 July, and disappeared.
Police now say they have posted a look-out notice for him, so he will not be able to leave the country. But that was done only on 25 August, more than a month after he went missing. What are the chances that he is still in this country?
Most curious of all are the circumstances in which Atala was released on bail. The bail order sets down three principal reasons for letting him go. One is that ‘nothing incriminating’ was found in a search of his house. Another was that the policemen involved, including prime accused Ashish Shirodkar and Shaish Pokle had already been released on bail, and he deserved to get bail on grounds of parity. But the third and most important reason was that though the basis of the case was the video clippings made by his former girlfriend Lucky Amori alias Farmhouse, no statement of Lucky had been recorded by the police.
In its order granting bail to the policemen, the Bombay High Court at Goa had observed that the Police Department could easily have sent a responsible IPS officer to record her statement. Despite this, the police didn’t do it. Consequently, they did not have a strong enough prima facie case to warrant Atala’s continued detention.
Atala seems very dear to the police. Even after it has become amply evident that he has fled, the Crime Branch DySP Chandrakant Salgaonkar took the trouble to clarify that he is “not an absconder”, and that “he may emerge tomorrow”. Of course he may. It cannot be ruled out. Neither for that matter can it be ruled out that pigs can fly.
But for those with any commonsense, Atala is gone. Most likely, he will not return. Neither, for that matter, will the credibility of the Crime Branch.
