One-and-a-half years RI for drug peddler

Ludhiana: A local court has sentenced a drug peddler to one-and-a-half years rigorous imprisonment in a case of peddling medical drugs. Special Court judge Kulbhushan Kumar also imposed a fine of Rs2,000 on the convict, and in default of payment of fine, he would have to further undergo rigorous imprisonment for 20 days.
On April 22, 2016, Division 5 police had booked Darshan Singh of Manjit Nagar in Ludhiana under sections 22 and 61 of the NDPS Act, after 4,500 tablets of Lomotil, containing Diphenoxylate Hydrochloride, were recovered from him. As per prosecution, ASI Attar Singh and other police officials were patrolling at Malhar Road near PVR, when they noticed a person holding a black colour bag in his right hand near a pan shop. After seeing cops, he tried to turn back in haste, but the ASI, with the help of other police officials, apprehended the person and asked him about his particulars. After frisking, 75 strips — each containing 60 Lomotil tablets — were found from his bag. After arresting the accused, police produced a chargesheet in the court.
During trial, the accused pleaded innocence. While additional public prosecutor for the state pleaded for punishment to the accused on the basis of prosecution evidence, the counsel for the accused argued that his client had been falsely implicated in the case, as no independent witness was joined in the investigation at the time of alleged recovery of contraband from the accused.
The court turned down the defence contention, and observed: “It is true that the investigating officer had not joined any independent witness, though recovery had taken place from a busy area. There is nothing on record to show that false recovery was planted upon the accused, as no previous ill-will or enmity was either alleged or proved. In such a set of circumstances, if no independent witness was joined, that does not make any difference, because it is seen in common experience that people from general public are always reluctant to assist police officials in such matters. Sometimes, they avoid incurring the wrath of the accused, who has indulged in illegal activities, and sometimes, they avoid harassment at different levels of investigation and trial.”