4 years on,HC acquits man charged with possessing 34 kg charas

A discrepancy in the inscription on the seal of the seized packet of charas and the absence of the signature or thumb impression of the accused led the High Court to reject the prosecution case. The court also took note of the fact that the prosecution had not examined the keeper of the warehouse where the drugs were allegedly taken to or produced the warehouse register.

In March 2006,the anti-narcotic cell of the police allegedly received information that an absconding accused,Javed Chikna,and his wife Banu were selling charas from two rooms in Dongri.

Police claimed that Pathan was engaged in packing the drugs. It accused him of having 34 kg of charas in his possession. Pathan,however,claimed that he was picked up from the footpath and falsely implicated.

During cross-examination,police sub-inspector Manjusha Parab had admitted that all the seals of the anti-narcotic cell were identical and did not have any distinguishing mark.

The lawyer for the accused,Sartaj Shaikh,said the inscription on the seal of the seized packet was different from the usual seal and did not have the signature or thumb impression of the accused. Justice Chavan in his order said,“It would be open to doubt as to whether the sample analysed…was the same as seized from the premises where the appellant (Pathan) was found. (The trial court) ought to have given benefit of doubt to the appellant.”

Hyderabad blasts: ATS questions Bhiwandi man

Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) questioned a Bhiwandi resident,Shaikh Aqueel,in connection to the Hyderabad blasts,earlier this week. While not much is known of Aqueel,the agency said it was a follow up and they were “working on information received from sources”. While the ATS confirmed picking him up from his residence and questioning him for hours,it added that he had been let off after recording his details. Teams from NIA are also in Maharashtra,questioning and looking for leads,with one team camping in Nanded.