Mohali: Three jailed for 2 years in heroin seizure case

In another case, the court convicted a 32-year-old truck driver for possessing 15 kg of poppy husk and sentenced him to two years of rigorous imprisonment

Mohali A local court has sentenced two years of rigorous imprisonment to three men in connection with a drug case. The convicts — Avtar ,Singh alias Raju, Kulveer Singh, alias Bayanti, and Amandeep Singh, alias Tinku — were also fined ₹20,000 each. Failure to pay the fine will lead to one more month of imprisonment.

The convicts — Avtar ,Singh , Kulveer Singh and Amandeep Singh— have also been fined ₹20,000 each. (HT Photo)

According to the FIR, the car-borne men were arrested at a police checkpoint near the airport chowk while carrying 300-gm heroin (100-gm drug from each of them) in 2018. The search was conducted in the presence of a deputy superintendent of police.

During the trial, the prosecution examined several witnesses, including members of the police team involved in the recovery, and placed on record the forensic science laboratory report confirming that the seized substance was heroin. The defence argued that no independent witnesses were joined during the recovery. It also pointed to minor discrepancies in the statements of police officials. The court, however, rejected the contention, observing that minor inconsistencies were natural when witnesses depose after a long gap and do not affect the core of the prosecution case if the evidence otherwise inspires confidence.

Holding the accused guilty, the court sentenced each convict to two years of rigorous imprisonment under Section 21-B and two years under Section 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act , along with a fine of ₹20,000 for each offence. Both sentences will run concurrently, making the effective sentence two years of rigorous imprisonment for each convict.

In another case, the court convicted a 32-year-old truck driver for possessing 15 kg of poppy husk and sentenced him to two years of rigorous imprisonment. The court of Rajesh Ahluwalia held Gurpreet Singh, alias Happy, a resident of Khanpur in Kharar, guilty under Section 15-B of the NDPS Act in a case registered by the Kurali police in 2019 following the recovery of the contraband from a truck he was driving during a police check on the Morinda road. The court observed that minor inconsistencies in police testimony cannot override credible evidence of recovery.