Confirms politicians’ involvement
TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: The drug report by the House Committee of Goa Legislative Assembly will be tabled in the upcoming assembly session scheduled for October, chairman and Nuvem MLA Francisco Mickky Pacheco said even as he alleged that there are politicians involved the nexus being investigated.
After seeking several extensions, Pacheco who is probing the nexus between police-politicians with drug lords Saturday assured that he would table its report during the ensuing assembly session and for the first time confirmed involvement of politicians in the lethal nexus.
“I don’t want to make any statement before I table the report but there is (politician-drug mafia) nexus… The involvement is serious,” he said responding to a question whether the committee uncovered links of politicians in the drug trade, at a press conference Saturday. He however declined to divulge details.
Pacheco said he required some more time to probe the case deeper.
“The drug-related activities were going on for years together. I need sometime to complete the investigation and get to the roots of the case. But the report is almost ready. I will table it in the assembly session,” he said.
The committee formed during the monsoon session of the Assembly on August 3, 2012 was mandated to probe the alleged involvement of politicians including former Home Minister Ravi Naik’s son Roy in the nexus, which was exposed by Swedish model Lucky Farmhouse.
The committee had also put under the scanner several police officers who allegedly shielded this nexus.
The report was originally supposed to be submitted within a month of the House Committee being constituted but the deadline was extended to December 2012 and later even further. Pacheco had cited uncooperative attitude of the police as one of many reasons for the delay in completing the investigation.
The chairman said he had complained to Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar that the police were not giving the information required for the probe.
More than a dozen policemen including a police inspector, two Israelis ~ David Driham alias Dudu and Yaniv Benaim alias Atala among others are accused of being involved in the drug nexus. The CBI that was handed over the investigation from the Crime Branch has already charge sheeted one case while investigations into the remaining two cases have been completed and charge sheets are expected to be filed soon.
