Chandigarh: Two Kolkata men held with charas get 10-year RI

The district court pronounced the sentence three years after the two men were arrested with 1.21 kilograms of charas at the Inter State Bus Terminus in Sector 43, Chandigarh

The district court, Chandigarh, has awarded 10-year rigorous imprisonment to two men from Kolkata, three years after they were arrested with 1.21 kilograms of charas at the Inter State Bus Terminus in Sector 43.

The convicts have been identified as Mohd Ziauddin, 66, and Mohd Sultan, 25, of Kolkara. They have also been fined ₹1 lakh each. (Stock photo)

The convicts have been identified as Mohd Ziauddin, 66, and Mohd Sultan, 25. They have also been fined ₹1 lakh each. Meanwhile, Shakuntla Devi, 53, of Kullu, who was also put on trial in the same case has been acquitted as the prosecution failed to prove the charges against her.

The duo was arrested by a joint team of the Narcotics Control Bureau’s zonal unit and Chandigarh Police on May 11, 2018. According to the prosecution, they first denied that they were carrying any drugs but then handed over a jacket in which the contraband had been concealed.

They claimed they had purchased it from Shakuntala Devi in Kullu for ₹50,000 per kg. Its weight was found to be 1.21 kg.

In court, the public prosecutor sought stringent punishment for the two, even as the accused pleaded for leniency.

Ziauddin alleged that he had been made a scapegoat to shield real culprits and the contraband had been planted on him. Even Sultan and Shakuntla Devi pleaded that nothing had been recovered from them.

After hearing both sides, the court observed that the prosecution failed to prove the offence under the Narcotic Drugs And Psychotropic Substance (NDPS) Act against Shakuntla Devi, and she was acquitted of all charges framed against her.

“However, the prosecution has been able to prove the offence under Section 20 of the NDPS Act against accused Mohd Sultan and Mohd Ziauddin beyond reasonable doubt,” the judge observed while holding them guilty. Section 20 of the NDPS Act pertains to possession of a contraband within the ambit of commercial quantity, without any licence or permit.

The court added that the instances of trafficking in contraband are on an alarming rise and drugs have directly affected the youth and entire social fabric of the society.