CBI still hesitant to swoop in on Ravi Naik’s son, Roy Naik, after a watertight deposition of key witness Lucky Farmhouse in the politician-police drug nexus case
The authorised English translation of the WitnessExamination Report of Lucky Mangarda, (better known as Lucky Farmhouse) tooktwo years. But when Ashok Yadav Inspector CBI received an email attachment ofthis on September 28, 2012, nothing was lost in translation. The truth, inSwedish and English, is this.
Roy Naik, the son of the former Home Minister of Goa, handedover a bag of drugs to Lucky Farmhouse’s former friend and companion Atala, analleged notorious drug runner who was arrested and demanded money.
This is a major development in government authorised investigationsinto the nexus between the police-politicians and drug dealers in Goa,conducted by the CBI. We have selected specific extracts from the WitnessExamination report of Farmhouse, related to Roy Naik, conducted by the InternationalPublic Prosecution offi ce of the Swedish police under the direction ofInterpol, on the request of the CBI, India. This is fundamental to the progressof this story
On Page 9: Summary of Lucky’s statement – “When they (Luckyand Atala) are on their way there (Calangute),
it emerges that Atala is to meet Niike there,), whom hecalled “boss”. This time he received a bag of drugs. Atala met the “boss”outside the church, Niike came on his scooter or motorcycle”
Page 10: “When she (Lucky) asked Atala what it ( thecontents of the bag) was , he explained it was cocaine, mushrooms etc. Atalawas given the bag by Niike”
Page 10 (indication that Naik handed over the bag for money)“..Atala was to hand over the money..at Anjuna. Niike was not satisfi ed withthe amount of money, but it should have been more. He wanted more money.”
While this had to wait because the original investigationreport was in Swedish, the English translation is damaging. This is now inpublic domain with the local press having reported it. The entire investigationreport that The Goan has confirms known facts about the police-drug dealernexus.
But it raises a critical question that has not been asked.‘Why has Roy Naik got immunity against interrogation and arrest, post thereceipt of the English translation”. Without getting into hysterics or pre judgingRoy Naik’s involvement, let us see this in the grave context of what thisreally is.
Roy Naik and his father Ravi Naik have all along asked howit is beyond doubt that the reference is to this Roy Naik. While Lucky’s depositionmakes it clear, here is further confirmation.
“Yes, he is the same person as mentioned in the report andwe have examined him over here,” confirms SP CBI, Goa Prem Kumar. His confirmationcoming after Roy Naik’s press briefing where he denied any knowledge of Luckyand any association with Atala.
But what is even more baffling is the fact that CBI istreating the state’s once super powerful Home Minister’s son with kid gloves.While Lucky’s video was enough for Goa’s CID Crime Branch to take into custodysix policemen who were even jailed and suspended for their alleged involvementin the drug nexus, Roy, whose name keeps on popping with alarming regularity inLucky’s statement, has been summoned to be examined and not even taken into custodyas yet. After Goa Police, CBI too is displaying double standards in dealingwith influential politician’s son and corrupt police officials.
Lucky Mångårda has given a graphic account of how Roy dealtin drugs with Atala. In fact, one of the videos that she had recorded and waspreviewed along with her prosecutors in Sweden in December 2010 had her waitingfor Atala in a car when he had gone to collect a drug consignment from Roy.What is baffling is why is CBI not grilling Roy ‘in camera’ or doing apolygraphy test on Roy? In sharp contrast to Roy’s public posturing that he isnot aware of the existence of Lucky, the Swedish model has deposed that Roy,Anti Narcotics Cell’s Ashish Shirodkar and a third ‘cop’ were regulars withAtala.
What CBI is failing to take cognisance of was the fact thatLucky says that Roy had even threatened her when she uploaded the videos whereAtala talks of Roy and his other police brothers. An indignant Lucky in returnhad created a YouTube account in Roy Naik’s name.
Though Lucky talks of how she was moved by ScarlettKeeling’s death and wanted to nail the police, she has confessed that sherecognised and corroborated Roy’s identity as Ravi Naik’s son only afterwatching Ravi on television in the aftermath of Scarlett’s death. The questionis, why should an aspiring model and actor with no vested interest in Goa, namejust one man again and again even four years after having seen him for thefirst time? Why is this not so simple for CBI? But CBI’s task isn’t all thateasy.
Having to work only on Goa Police’s CID’s evidences andrecords, their chances of nailing the culprits is anything but suspect. Luckytalks of how Atala would sit day long in his cybercafé and not go out anywhere.The police even came to collect extortion money or drop drugs for sale atAtala’s home in Siolim most of the times. Atala ran his business from home,from the cybercafé and has long since closed that business too. Why were thehard disks of computers at the cybercafé not attached and their IP addressesnot used to establish the expanse of the drug business. CBI confirms that they don’thave those PCs in their custody.
In the end, CBI is not just treating CID’s investigation asthe benchmark but also treating the witnesses with same weightage as apolitically maneuvered CID did protecting its’ own Boss, the Home Minister’sson. While India’s premier investigating agency is battling the pressures frompowerful politician and his son, who circumstantially too was a key man in theHome / Police hierarchy (Roy was an OSD to his Home Minister father), majorevidences like hard disks of PC from Atala’s cybercafé have gone missing.Justice, despite Lucky’s bravado, may never happen.
