Provogue owner acquitted in drugs case

Nearly four years after his arrest in a drugs seizure case, owner of the famous apparel brand Provogue, Salil Chaturvedi, acquitted by a special court for want of evidence.

Nearly four years after his arrest in a drugs seizure case, owner of the famous apparel brand Provogue, Salil Chaturvedi, on Friday acquitted by a special court for want of evidence.

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A special Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) court acquitted Chaturvedi, after the prosecution failed to prove that he was in possession of three grams of cocaine that was allegedly found at his Lokhandwala bungalow in August 2005.

"When the police raided Chaturvedi's residence, there were many persons present including his wife, other relatives and servants. There is no evidence to prove that the recovered drugs belonged to the accused," Chatruvedi's lawyer Rizwan Merchant has argued.

Judge A T Amlekar observed that the prosecution had failed to prove that the premises was in exclusive possession of the accused at the relevant time.

However, eight other accused, also arrested in the same drugs seizure case, are still facing trial as their case had been separated from that of Chaturvedi.