2023 drug seizure: Court discharges drug lord Kailash Rajput’s brother

In his discharge plea, his brother, Kamal Rajput, claimed there is no admissible evidence against him

MUMBAI: A special Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) court on Monday discharged drug lord Kailash Rajput’s brother, Kamal Rajput, who was arrested in March 2023 by the Crime Branch in connection with the seizure of 15kg of Ketamine and 23,000 Viagra tablets worth ₹8 crore from an Andheri-based courier firm.

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During a 2023 raid, the police arrested two accused - Vijay Rane and Mohammad Aasim Mohammad Ibrahim Shaikh - alleged to be part of a syndicate run by Kailash Rajput, involved in the business of ketamine and Viagra. The duo was running a courier service in Andheri (E), out of which they smuggled the banned medicines to Autralia and the UK through couriers.

In his discharge plea, Kamal said he is in the courier service business and claimed there is no admissible evidence against him. His advocate said no contraband was recovered from Kamal, and that he was arraigned as an accused based on the statement given by Rane and Shaikh.

The special judge CS Datir observed it could not be said Kamal was involved in the crime merely because he is the brother of the absconding accused.

“There are no WhatsApp messages or phone conversations between the applicant with co-accused (Rane and Shaikh) or wanted accused (Kailash) with regards to the alleged seized recovery of contraband or seized amount”, said the court. The court added that telephonic conversations could not be a reason to hold Kamal liable.