E-Paper
Chandigarh: Man caught with 15 banned injections gets 10-year RI
Harpal Singh alias Kala of Sector 22 was arrested on September 16, 2019, from the road dividing Sector 39 A and B in Chandigarh; he was stopped on the basis of suspicion and found in possession of the banned injections
A local court has sentenced a 43-year-old man, who was arrested with 15 injections of buprenorphine four years ago, to 10-year rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹1 lakh on him.
Harpal Singh alias Kala of Sector 22 was arrested on September 16, 2019, from the road dividing Sector 39 A and B. He was stopped on the basis of suspicion and found in possession of the banned injections.
A case under Section 22 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act was registered against him. He was later chargesheeted, but Harpal said he was falsely implicated and opted for a trial.
The prosecution examined eight witnesses who corroborated the police’s version and said that drugs recovered from the accused were commercial in nature. The defence, meanwhile, contended that the accused was picked up from a Sector-37 park and nothing was recovered from him. It also added that there were discrepancies in the version of the prosecution.
The court observed that the prosecution had proved on file beyond doubt that the injections were recovered from the accused and convicted him.
During the quantum of sentence, the convict pleaded for leniency and added that he was an HIV patient, who has spent the last three years in custody. The court, however, ruled that the nature of the offence and recovery of commercial quantity of contraband from him didn’t leave any reason for leniency.
