19Kg Drugs Go 'Missing' from Police Station As Rats Ate It: Jharkhand Cops Tell Court

If Jharkhand Police are to be believed then rats have eaten around 19 kg drugs that were seized in 2018 and kept inside a police station. Police told court that they were thus unable to present the seized drugs and a separate case has been registered in this connection.

Dhanbad: It may sound strange but nearly 19 kg drugs that were seized by police six years ago have gone missing from the police station as it was eaten up by the rats, states a report submitted to the court by Dhanbad Police.

In its report, police said that 10 kg cannabis and 9 kg marijuana were seized under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, were eaten by the rats and so it is difficult to present it before court as proof. A separate case has been registered in the police station in this connection.

Investigating police officer of Rajganj police station, Jai Prakash Prasad has submitted a report in this regard to the court of principal district and sessions judge Ram Sharma. On behalf of police, public prosecutor Awadhesh Kumar, told the court that the drugs seized under NDPS were destroyed by rats.

Defence lawyer Abhay Bhatt said, on December 14, 2018, a case was registered under NDPS Act and trial is underway. During the proceedings, police were asked to present the confiscated goods before court. After which, police submitted a report stating its inability to present the confiscated items since it was eaten by rats.

Bhatt said that six years ago, an FIR was registered under NDPS Act in Rajganj police station against three persons namely Shambhu Prasad Agarwal, his son and nephew Karan Prasad Agarwal. Police said acting on a tip-off about transaction of drugs in their house, the then DSP and Raiganj police personnel raided the premises and arrested Shambhu Prasad Aggarwal and his son while his nephew had fled from the spot.

Shambhu's son was a juvenile and his case is still on in the Juvenile Court while the trial of Shambhu Prasad Agarwal and Karan Prasad Agarwal is going on in the court of principal district and sessions judge.

Police claimed that the 19 kg drugs seized from Shambhu's house was kept at the police station. Earlier, it was produced by the police in court and thereafter kept at the police station. However, the entire stock has now gone missing.

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