Arrested Israeli drug dealer can take private dental care

PANAJI - After he hit the headlines for using social networking site Facebook from behind the bars earlier this week, a local court has now allowed Israeli drug dealer David Driham alias Dudu to take root canal treatment at a private dental clinic.

The prosecution had vehemently opposed Dudu’s plea for private treatment, asking him to seek dental care from a government dental hospital instead.

“It would take some time for the applicant to get dental treatment at GMC (Goa Medical College)… interest of justice would be served by allowing the applicant to take treatment by a private dentist of his choice,” special Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) court judge Bimba Thaly said in her order issued Tuesday.

Dudu has also been ordered to pay all expenses, which include medical fees, travelling and payment of police escort personnel.

His lawyer Raju Poulekar had said the undertrial’s oral suffering was extreme and an appointment at a government-run dental hospital would have taken at least four months.

Dudu, who was arrested for possession of drugs in February, was last in the news after he was found updating his friends on Facebook about the latest developments in his case.

The Facebook account has been suspended after it was reported in the media.