PO in drugs case caught in Chandigarh after 32 years

Sentenced to a year’s jail in 1986, he filed an appeal and got bail; even as plea was rejected the next year, he remained absconding

A 57-year-old man was arrested over 32 years after he was declared a proclaimed offender (PO) in a drugs case, police said on Sunday.

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The accused, identified as Dharambir, alias Bhagwan Das, was booked in May 1985 under the OP Act (now Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act).

According to the FIR, then assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Jagir Singh of the crime branch had caught him carrying 1kg opium on the road dividing Sectors 14 and 25.

Later, Dharambir was found guilty and sentenced to one-year imprisonment and fined ₹1,000 by the district court in 1986.

However, after spending three months behind bars, Dharambir filed a petition against the conviction in the upper court, which granted him bail.

Later, the court rejected his appeal in May 1987, following which he remained an absconder.

Deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Krishan Verma said: “The accused was produced before a court and remanded in judicial custody.”