Seized ganja destroyed in rains, Vishnu Kanchi police tells court for 3rd straight time; accused acquitted
The Vishnu Kanchi police arrested K Lokeshwaran on December 28, 2019, near Udhayam theatre in Kancheepuram with 150 packets of ganja, each weighing 10 gm, according to the prosecution.
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CHENNAI: A 20-year-old who was arrested by the Vishnu Kanchi police in Kancheepuram for possession of 1.5 kg of ganja was acquitted by a special court on Wednesday, as the police had failed to produce the seized ganja in court as evidence, claiming that they were damaged in rains.
Conspicuously, two others arrested in separate cases by the Vishnu Kanchi police were also acquitted last year for the same reason.
The Vishnu Kanchi police arrested K Lokeshwaran on December 28, 2019, near Udhayam theatre in Kancheepuram with 150 packets of ganja, each weighing 10 gm, according to the prosecution. While a sample was sent to the lab for chemical analysis, the remaining was not produced as evidence.
“No contraband was produced before this court since the seized ganja was destroyed in rainy water,” the court noted and pointed out that police had not complied with mandatory provisions under Section 50 (1) of the NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic substances) act which requires the police to inform the suspect about his rights to be searched before a magistrate. “On that sole ground, he (the suspect) is liable to be acquitted,” noted Principal Special Judge C Thirumagal.
Similarly, R Selvakumar of Tiruvannamalai who was arrested by the Vishnu Kanchi police on December 27, 2019, with 1.5 kg of ganja was acquitted by the special court in June last year. The prosecution had filed a memo stating that the seized ganja in police custody got damaged in rains.
“In view of the contradictory evidence of the prosecution witnesses, the seizure and safe custody contraband is doubtful. Hence its creates a suspicion about the genuineness of the case,” Special Judge J Juliet Pushpa had noted, and acquitted Selvakumar.
Another suspect, K Raja, was arrested by the same police on October 10, 2019, allegedly with 1.5 kg ganja. In this case too, police had not produced the seized product in court for evidence, among other technical shortcomings, resulting in his acquittal in June, last year.