CBI should probe role of Goa home minister’s son in drug nexus: BJP

PANAJI - The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Thursday demanded that the role of Goa Home Minister Ravi Naik’s son in the police-politician-drug mafia nexus should be probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, leader of opposition Manohar Parrikar of the BJP said Governor S.S. Sidhu in his address to the assembly later this month should shed light on the involvement of home minister’s son Roy Naik in the drug nexus.

“First the home minister said that there are no drugs in Goa, when his son Roy Naik was named as part of the drug nexus, he said that the “Roy” involved in drug trade was not his son,” Parrikar said.

Parrikar, a former chief minister, said that both the administration as well as ruling politicians, were trying to mislead the people over the issue of handing over the drug nexus probe to the CBI.

“The home minister (announced) decision to hand over the police-politician-drug mafia nexus probe to the CBI two months back, if that was the case then why has the case not been handed over to the central agency? Why the delay?” asked Parrikar.

The leader of opposition, who along with 13 other BJP legislators met the governor Thursday, said that the governor should come clean on the involvement of Roy Naik in the drug nexus in the assembly session, which begins Jan 31.

“Our governor is not as pro-active as Karnataka Governor H.R. Bhardwaj, but let the governor make a clear statement in the drug nexus case. If Roy is not Ravi Naik’s son, then let him say so in his address on Jan 31,” Parrikar said,

Both opposition and ruling party legislators have accused home minister and a section of state cadre police officers of sabotaging investigations into the drug nexus which was unearthed last year.

A Swedish model and former girlfriend of an Israeli drug dealer Yaniv Benaim alias Atala had uploaded videos on last year which exposed the latter’s links with state cadre police officers.

The model, Lucky Farmhouse, had also said that Naik’s son Roy had links with Atala.

Seven policemen were suspended, arrested and later released on bail last year following the revelations.

Two weeks back, another sting operation conducted by the kin of yet another Israeli drug dealer showed a sub-inspector attached to an elite anti-narcotics unit of the state police selling drugs to foreign nationals.

The Panaji bench of the Bombay High Court is hearing a petition filed by the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of the Congress, seeking a CBI probe into the drug nexus.