Goa Police sends team to U'khand to get back Israeli criminal: Police

Goa Police has sent a team to Uttarakhand to get back Israeli national Yaniv Benaim alias Atala, a notorious criminal wanted in connection with an assault case in the coastal state.

A senior police official from Anjuna police station stated that Atala was arrested by Uttarakhand Police, two days back as he was trying to cross the border and enter Nepal.

"We want him in connection with a stabbing case registered against him. We have sent a team to get him back in the state. He would be taken into custody for further investigation," police said.

Media reports suggested that Atala was arrested by Uttarakhand Police after immigration officials apprehended him when he tried to sneak into Nepal via the border district in Champawat in Uttarakhand late on Tuesday.

Atala was arrested by Goa Police in 2009 after his name surfaced in policemen-drug lord-politician nexus in the state.

Atala's girlfriend, Lucky Farmhouse, had recorded his video confession claiming that he has been supplying drugs which were confiscated by police during the raids.

The case against him was investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Goa Police had suspended half a dozen officers attached to the Anti-Narcotic Cell, including its head Ashish Shirodkar, for their alleged links with Atala.