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Goa government accused of being lenient towards foreign narcotic offenders

Sandesh Prabhudesai in Panaji

Should foreign narcotic offenders be treated differently in India? Should they be deported to their respective countries instead of punishing them, when Indian offenders languish in prison for similar offences?

What sparked off the debate is Goa Chief Minister Pratapsing Rane's position in this regard. His Congress government has filed a plea in court to withdraw a case against a British couple, arrested while selling drugs on a Goan beach.

Rane admits the government's plea was made on the intervention of the British high commission and the accused's parents. The narcotic court had dismissed a similar plea made by the parents earlier. The couple have been in jail since March.

The chief minister believes the drugs were planted on Larry and Lucy Sky by the Goa police's anti-narcotic cell. The state's inspector general of police also claims there is no strong case against the couple. Rane is also Goa's home minister.

However, it is known that some members of the Goa police are actively involved in planting drugs on innocent foreigners and extracting money from them. If they do not pay up, foreigners can be sure to be implicated in a false case. Tourists have been warned about this in tourist guides circulated abroad.

This extortion racket continues, even though a couple of police officers were suspended last year. "My daughter has been framed in a similar manner," alleges P J Stewart, who is now pouring money on lawyers for her release.

Goa, a favourite international tourist destination, has also become a drugs haven. Hordes of foreigners flock to coastal villages in the state and are known to organise full moon parties in collusion with local bigwigs, including police officers.

Most British and Israeli tourists arrive in Goa by the end of September via Manali, where drugs are sold openly. For economic reasons -- to extend their stay till January -- they often sell small quantities of drugs to those coming directly to Goa.

Drug peddlers, however, mostly enter Goa from Himachal Pradesh. They come to the state seeking "seasonal business."

"But why separate treatment only for foreigners with financial, diplomatic and political connections?" asks Roland Martins of the Jagrut Goenkaranchi Fouz, a non governmental organisation fighting the ill-effects of tourism.

"It will send a wrong signal all over the world," cautions state Opposition leader Kashinath Jalmi, "that people can get away if they come to Goa with little quantity of drugs."

To prove the innocence of foreigners, Rane points out a case of a French woman who was carrying charas for her friend, not knowing it was banned in India. She was repatriated later.

Ashwin Tombat, editor of Gomantak Times, suggests discrimination between soft drugs like hashish, ganja and hard drugs like heroin, brown sugar and cocaine. He even speaks of a difference between addicts and peddlers, which is not based on the grounds of nationality and white skin.

"The addicts should get a short jail term while also treating them with detoxification and de-addiction," he says.

In spite of the large consumption, drugs only worth over Rs 20 million have been seized by the police since 1991. Most of which include charas, ganja and heroin, besides small quantities of opium, cocaine, brown sugar, ecstasy tablets and LSD pieces.

Of the 192 cases registered in the last eight years, 103 drug offenders including 34 foreigners have been convicted by the court. Police officers say 13 foreigners are imprisoned in the Aguada jail for drug related offences.

However, cases have been withdrawn against five foreigners, including two French and one each from Italy, Greece and Britain, alleges Martins. The government, he says, has not bothered to appeal against acquittals of five foreigners till date. "Is the government lenient only because of foreign exchange generation?" he asks.

But Rane is firm. He believes the accused foreigners should be deported, and their re-entry into India prohibited. "They come from decent families," he says. Rather than punishing drug offenders, the chief minister is also planning to set up a withdrawal centre in the state.

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