Sandesh Prabhudesai
21 July 1998
Should foreign narcotic offenders be treated differently in India ? Should they be deported to their respective countries instead of punishing them, while the Indian offenders languish in the jail for a similar kind of offence they commit ?
What sparked the debate to raise the questions is a strange stand adopted by Goa's chief minister Pratapsing Rane in this regard. His Congress government has made a plea to the court to withdraw a case against a British couple, who were actually arrested while selling drugs on Goan beach.
It is due to the intervention of the British consulate and their parents, admits Rane. Incidentally, the narcotic court had dismissed a similar plea made by their parents earlier. They have been in the jail since March.
The chief minister not only justifies his action of making a plea for withdrawal, but also admits that drugs were planted on the couple, Larry and Lucy Sky, by the anti-narcotic cell of the Goa police. Even the IGP claims that there is no strong case against them. Rane is also the home minister.
It is rather a fact that the Goa police is actively involved in planting drugs on innocent foreigners and extracting money from them. If not paid, you are sure to be implicated in a false case. The tourists are warned about this even through the tourist guides that are circulated abroad.
But the illegal act of the policemen reportedly continues even after a couple of officers were suspended last year. "My daughter is framed in a similar manner", alleges P J Stewart, who is now pouring money on the greedy lawyers to get her released.
Being a favourite international tourist destination, Goa has also become a 'drugs heaven' with hordes of foreigners flocking to the coastal villages here, holding full moon parties in collusion with the local bigwigs and even the police officials.
Mostly the Britishers and the Israelis land up in Goa by September end via Manali, where drugs are sold openly. For economic viability in order to extend their stay till January, they also sell little quantity of drugs to those who come directly to Goa.
The peddlers however are mostly the ones based in Himachal Pradesh, who come down here for "seasonal business".
"But why separate treatment only for the foreigners having big financial, diplomatic and political connections", asks Roland Martins of the Jagrut Goenkaranchi Fouz, the NGO fighting ill-effects of tourism.
"It will send a wrong signal all over the World", cautions state opposition leader Kashinath Jalmi, "that they can get away with it if they come to Goa with little quantity of drugs".
But Rane points out a case of a French woman, who was repatriated later, was carrying charas for her friend, not knowing that it is banned in India.
Ashwin Tombat, editor of Gomantak Times, suggests a discrimination between soft drugs like hashish, ganja etc and hard drugs like heroin, brown sugar and cocaine as well as between addicts and peddlers, rather than 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 opines. Martins also shares a similar opinion.
Compared to the amount of drug consumption, drugs worth only over Rs two crore have been seized by the police since '91. Most of it is charas, ganja and heroin, besides little quantity of opium, cocaine, brown sugar and the latest craze of ecstasy tablets and LSD pieces.
In 192 cases registered till June in last eight years, 103 drug offenders including 34 foreigners have been convicted by the court. Around 13 foreigners are still languishing at the Aguada jail, inform the police officials.
But cases have been withdrawn against five foreigners, including two French and one each from Italy, Greece and Britain, alleges Martins. The government has also 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 seems to be having a firm view that foreigners should be deported, under a condition to prohibit their re-entry into India. "They come from decent families", he claims while also planning to set up a withdrawal centre, rather than punishing them.
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