Israeli criminal held in U'khand wanted in Goa in assault case

Notorious Israeli criminal Yaniv Benaim alias Atala, arrested in Uttarakhand for overstaying in India, was wanted by Goa police for allegedly assaulting a Russian national at Anjuna in the coastal state last month, an official said on Thursday.

According to reports, Benaim 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.

He was wanted for assaulting a Russian national, Eduard Goryachev, at Anjuna in North Goa on April 25, the official said.

Benaim was booked along with two Russian nationals- Maxim Litronov and Denis- who are still absconding in the case, he added.

Benaim had filed an anticipatory bail application in a court in Goa on April 26, the senior police official from Anjuna police station said.

Anjuna police sub inspector Stanley Gomes, who is investigating the case, had told the court on April 30 that Benaim and two accused were on the run.

He had also told the court that Benaim was booked in various other cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and the Foreigners Act.

In his statement before the court, Gomes had said that Benaim had been living in Goa without a valid visa as per the records of Foreigners Registration office of the state police.

However, Swapnil Nasnodkar, who represented Benaim, had told the court that client has been framed in the assault case.

After Benaim's arrest in Uttarakhand, the Goa police has sent a team to that state to bring him back.

According to the official, the Goa police want Benaim's custody to recover the weapon he had used for the assault and also to know the whereabouts of the other two accused.