No bail to BSc dropout in MD production case

A court denied bail to Harish Pant, linked to a drug syndicate, citing his involvement in MD production and risk of tampering with evidence.

MUMBAI: A special NDPS court recently refused bail to Harish Pant, a 27-year-old BSc Chemistry dropout, arrested by the Sakinaka police in October 2023 for allegedly overseeing the production of Mephedrone or MD at drug kingpin Lalit Patil’s factory.

No bail to BSc dropout in MD production case

The Sakinaka police’s probe into the wider drug syndicate had begun with a peddler who was found with a paltry amount of mephedrone. The police had seized more than 150 kg of MD worth over ₹300 crore from the syndicate which allegedly had an active supply network in South Mumbai.

Pant was the 18th person to be arrested in the case, whose name was found in a diary seized by police from the house of fellow accused Shivaji Shinde. The police traced the source of contraband to a factory in Nashik, Shri Balaji Industry in Thakkar Industrial area, where they found all the materials required for the preparation of the drug, which was worth ₹ 268 crore.

The police claimed to have discovered that drug racketeer Lalit Patil, who has various similar cases against him, ran the factory. The prosecution submitted that Pant was aware about the production of these drugs and gave the formula of MD to Patil. The police seized around 55-gram MD and cash worth ₹1.5 lakh from Pant’s possession.

Pant’s advocate submitted that Pant was not informed of the grounds of arrest, which is mandatory under the NDPS act. The defence argued that the search was conducted at Pant’s place by the investigating body without obtaining any warrant of authorisation. They submitted that there is no proof to show Pant’s involvement in a criminal conspiracy and his association with the other accused.

The prosecution argued that they complied with all the mandatory requirements under the NDPS Act. They submitted that Pant was involved in the drug trafficking business for a long time and would repeat the crime or tamper with prosecution evidence if released on bail.

Special NDPS judge Mahesh Jadhav said that records showed that Pant was deeply involved in the crime since contraband was seized from his apartment at Madhuban Township. “He has involved in the conspiracy with Lalit Patil and Bhushan Patil to prepare the contraband,” said the court. Since Pant has knowledge on how to prepare MD, the court held that he might repeat the crime if released on bail and tamper with prosecution evidence.

“Prima facie appreciation of the material on record and considering the nature of the offence, gravity of the offence, there appear no justifiable grounds for releasing applicant/accused on bail,” the court said, while rejecting his bail plea.