A sessions court in Goa has ordered framing of charges against seven policemen, including a former Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and the then-sub inspector in Goa police, for allegedly fabricating a false case and planting drugs on an Israeli national in Goa. In 2010, an Israeli national, David Driham alias Dudu, was arrested by the Anti-narcotics Cell (ANC) of Goa police from Anjuna in Bardez for alleged possession of narcotics including heroin, cocaine, liquid LSD and charas. He was booked for offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. After allegations of extortion and a nexus between drug dealers and police surfaced, the investigation was later handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The court said a re-investigation by the CBI found that a false case was registered against Driham by the accused policemen including the then DSP ANC Naresh Mhamal and sub-inspector Sunil Gudlar, who was the in-charge of the ANC evidence room [Malkhana] at the time. In an order on August 3, Additional Sessions Judge, North Goa, Mapusa, Sharmila Patil, said, "The investigation and more particularly the CDR reports, the statements of pancha witnesses recorded under Section 164 of the CrPC and the other witness on record would show that the accused, Mr Sunil Gudlar, along with other accused entered into a criminal conspiracy among themselves and in furtherance of a common intention to extort money, they had fabricated a false case against accused no.1, an Israeli national, under the NDPS Act." “The conscious possession of illegal contraband were not found in possession of accused no.1 but on the contrary it is seen prima facie to be implanted on the accused no.1 as per investigation done by CBI.," the court observed. The court also discharged the Israeli national of the offences under the NDPS Act, observing that he has been exonerated by the CBI since the probe suggested that a false case was lodged against him, and therefore, there is no sufficient material to frame charges against him. The court said that the investigation documents, the statement of the sentry guard at the Panaji police station along with call detail records (CDR) of mobile phones of the accused and ANC police officials disclosed that the Israeli national was "brought at ANC office at Panaji at 01.00 hours on 22.02.2010 and therefore the panchanama which is shown to have concluded at 3.35 hours and they reaching Panaji at 6.00 hours on 22.02.2010 appears prima facie to be false and fabricated". The court added that the CBI investigation reveals that Gudlar was in-charge of ANC Malkhana wherein the case property of disposed NDPS cases were stored and kept in custody and investigation of a connected case revealed that "seals of many exhibits in the ANC Malkhana were tampered…".
