Two accused caught with ganja worth over a lakh of rupees will go scot-free because of the technical blunders committed by the investigating officer, wrote a public prosecutor to the concerned senior police officer this week. The prosecutor has asked the police to be more careful about the technicalities of the law.
The ganja was seized at Mankhurd on December 27, 2006. The duo was apprehended by Trombay police sub-inspector (PSI) DB Bajgalkar while he was patrolling the area. Bajgalkar filed the first information report (FIR) in the case.
On Tuesday, Bajgalkar deposed before the court. Additional public prosecutor Vijaylaxmi Nadar said, “This is the first time I’veseen the PSI conduct the entire investigation. A PSI has no right to do this in a narcotics case. How are we supposed to conduct matters like these?” she said. The next day, she shot off a letter to the deputy commissioner of police (DCP), Zone 6. The case is still pending in the court, but the prosecutor claims that because of the technical blunders, the case will result in an acquittal. “In a commercial quantity matter, this is a case of 100 per cent acquittal,” reads the letter.
“Throughout the investigation, NDPS section 42(2) was not complied with. A PSI conducting raid under NDPS Act itself is illegal,” she stated in her letter. As per the Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Act, a gazetted officer to the level of police inspector (PI) has to intimated and the raid has to be conducted under the gazetted officer’s supervision.
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