Goa CM dodges questions on drug mafia

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar Wednesday dodged questions about drug mafia operations in the coastal state.

Parrikar refused to comment on Director General of Police T.N. Mohan's claim that there was no drug mafia operating in Goa, a state infamous for narco-tourism.

"You ask the DGP. Why are you asking me?" Parrikar told reporters at the state secretariat.

Pressed further for his impression of his police chief's statement, he said: "You first have to define what is a mafia."

Last week, Mohan, who was recently appointed the state's top policeman, underplayed the significance of narcotics control as a top-of-the-mind policing issue.

"There are drugs in Goa... It is still my opinion that Goa is not Mexico. Goa does not have a mafia or a lawlessness which is there in those places," Mohan said.

He added that the presence of drugs in Goa was "nominal".

Mohan's comments attracted a lot of criticism from political parties as well as the civil society.