25 Oct 2013

Softly, into the night
There has been no dramatic skyfall after Swedish model Lucky Farmhouse’s sensational long distance disclosures about the shady underbelly of Goan politics, and the politician-police-drug mafia nexus, since drug tales have become part of badtime stories, as it were, in Goa for long. But it is the first person account that conclusively nails the truth that many tourists, from Israel to Sweden, including Yaniv Benaim alias Atala, David Driham alias Dudu, Lucky herself and the like flock to Goa because of easy availability of drugs.
So, when the Deputy Chief Minister admits that Goa is a “soft state” he is making no new revelation. His statement came on the back of the Chief Minister’s assertion in the House that terrorists come here to cool off. But the Deputy CM went a step ahead and even called Goa a magnet for “every known criminal in the world” ~ a rather stinging tag delivered to the State by its own government.
Though Lucky may be criticized for not deposing before the police, which her testimony has brought out would have its own issues, it does not obliterate the fact that Goa has become a hub for drug supply, transit and consumption. These drug dealings seem to even have terrorist links, with Lucky, though naturally hesitant to rattle out names, saying she thought Atala had connections with terrorists while apparently referring to Indian Mujahideen operative Yasin Bhatkal. Internationally, drugs fuel terrorism and Lucky’s apparent reference seems to establish the international typology in Goa which still holds the illusion of being a quiet, peaceful, haven ~ the question is, haven for whom?
Tourism too reinforces the fact that Goa is a soft state where the police are “pliable” and illegalities such as prostitution and petty crime hinge on their protection and while they are busy with these “collections” terrorists find safe haven here due to failure of intelligence. Other authorities too can be purchased if one has the right connections and pays the right amounts, as disclosed by Lucky.
Having no perceptible stakes in the narrative, her testimony also exposes the extortion rackets which thrive on drugs and how this extortion money fuels lavish lifestyles, real estate buys and business investments and how they grease the heavy wheels of power on which the State moves. It exposes how those linked to power act as middlemen to provide protection by blunting police action. The terrifying revelation is that fingers are being pointed to even a former home minister and his kin. Irrespective of whether these allegations are true or politically motivated as the ex-minister has retorted, it sends a chill down the spine to realize that those who govern us are under the shadow of suspicion.
It is naïve to think that things have changed much since then, if the utterances of the deputy CM are anything to go by. His attempt to hinge the security of the State on the honesty of landlords reporting diligently on suspicious tenants, however, does not hold much water since the security of the State depends on central agency inputs and specialist police intelligence which have to be upgraded. Since the deputy CM said, “Every known criminal in the world has been to Goa”, we could fairly conclude that every known and unknown lawbreaker has been to Goa because it is a soft state. Every known and unknown lawbreaker could also have brushed shoulders with the politicians, police and the rich and famous given the plethora of extravagant parties hosted in farmhouses, high-walled bungalows and expensive yachts.
It is doubtful that more police constables will be able to stem the rot in Goa. Citizens have the right to know how this “soft state” is now going to implement the rule of law effectively.