PANAJI
The Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) of Goa Police is preparing to approach the High Court of Bombay at Goa after the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) declined to share details of Israeli national Yaniv Benaim aka Atala citing legal restrictions.
The ANC is probing Atala for possession of drugs while Anjuna police are probing illegal stay in India. The ANC had written to the UIDAI seeking documents submitted by the accused to obtain an Aadhaar card. However, UIDAI, in a written reply, stated that it won't furnish the requested documents due to provisions under Section 33 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016. On the other hand, sources said, that a foreigner can possess Aadhaar Card provided valid documents like a passport and local residential address are provided.
Sources further confirmed that ANC will seek high court directions for UIDAI to release the documents necessary for the ongoing criminal investigation.
In a parallel development, the Anjuna Police Station has taken custody of Atala from the ANC for further investigation into his illegal stay in the country without valid documents. The case was registered after a complaint by the ANC.
It has also come to the fore that the ANC has also summoned a Kolkata native, identified as the owner of the premises where Atala had been residing after his release on bail in a 2019 attempted murder case registered at Anjuna PS. The investigation is being supervised by DySP Nerlon Albuquerque.
