IPS officer may probe cops-drug mafia nexus

PANJIM, JULY 1
Bowing to criticism from various quarters including the High Court, the Government is mulling handing over the cops-drug mafia nexus investigations to a senior police officer, most likely from the Indian Police Service (IPS).
Six policemen including police inspector Ashish Shirodkar and an alleged Israeli drug dealer Atala were arrested in connection with the case only to be released on bail by the court for lack of evidence.
The High Court which heard the case a few days back had criticised the police investigations.
The court while hearing the bail application plea of a police inspector linked to the drug mafia said that police were unwilling to get to the bottom of the high profile drug probe, in which a son of a senior ruling party minister is linked. 
Chief Secretary Sanjiv Srivastava speaking to reporters here said the police would follow all observations made by the Panjim Bench of the Bombay High Court, which includes the appointment of a responsible IPS officer to head the probe into the drug nexus.
“We will follow the honourable High Court’s observations. The court wanted an IPS officer to head the enquiry, we will do it. Currently the IGP (Inspector General of Police) and DGP (Director General of Police) are supervising the probe,” Srivastava said. Srivastava, however, refused to comment on accusations against Deputy Superintendent of Police Chandrakant Salgaonkar, who the Opposition has charged with attempting to derail and sabotage the probe into the nexus.
The police-drug mafia nexus was exposed after Swedish model Lucky Farmhouse uploaded videos of her former boyfriend Atala on www.youtube.com, boasting of his links with the police and politicians.
Even two months after the probe began, the police are yet to record Farmhouse’s statement. The High Court has also suggested that the sloppy police investigation could be a result of political pressure.