Ludhiana: 5-year jail for woman found with 500 drug pills

Ludhiana: A local court has sentenced a woman peddler to five years rigorous imprisonment after she was found in possession of 100 intoxicant tablets and 400 intoxicant capsules. The Judge Special court Harvinder Singh also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on the convict and in default of payment of fine, she will have to further undergo rigorous imprisonment for a period of five months. On 24 June 2019, Sidhwan Bet police had booked Sharanjit Kaur aka Shindi of Khurshedpura village under NDPS act for possession of intoxicant tablets and capsules.As per prosecution, on June 24, 2019, ASI Bahadur Singh along with other police officials was present at Kishanpura Chowk, Sidhwan Bet, in a private vehicle where he received a secret information that Sharanjit Kaur is habitual of selling heavy quantity of intoxicant tablets and on that day also, in order to sell heavy intoxicant tablets, she is coming in the area of Sidhwan Bet and if check post is set up at T-Point Bhaini Gujran on Satluj canal, she alongwith intoxicant tablets can be apprehended. ASI Bahadur Singh requested for sending another Investigating Officer at the spot. Thereafter, ASI Major Singh reached at the spot and the investigation was entrusted to him. Then the police party laid check post at the disclosed place in connection with checking and patrolling. During checking, a lady while carrying a heavy envelope in her hand was seen coming on foot from Village Bhaini Gujran side. On seeing the police party, she became perplexed and tried to turn back. On the basis of suspicion, Constable Karamjit Kaur on the instructions of ASI Major Singh with the help of police party apprehended her and her whereabouts were asked. She identified herself as Sharanjit Kaur. Later police recovered intoxicant tablets and capsules from her polythene. Police later arrested her and after completing investigation, presented chargesheet against the accused in the court.During trial of the case, the accused pleaded false implication in the case. Defence counsel contended that the prosecution has failed to join the independent witness despite having ample opportunity. The court after appreciating the evidence on record observed that this contention put forth by defence counsel does not cut much ice and the pleas of prosecution cannot be thrown away just because no independent witness was joined at the time of alleged search and seizure. "Due to non-examination of independent witness, the evidence of official witnesses cannot be distrusted and disbelieved" the court observed.Court observationsThe court also observed that so far as defence version of the accused is concerned, although accused has taken a plea in her statement under Section 313 of the CrPC that nothing was recovered from her and she has been falsely implicated in this case and she was picked up by the police from her house and the recovery has been planted upon her while picking up her from her house, but she failed to prove the same. The court further observed "Otherwise also, accused has not alleged any ill-will or enmity with the police and, therefore, there was no reason for the police authorities to falsely implicate the accused in this case. Even otherwise admittedly, accused neither moved any complaint nor appeared before any higher police authority after the occurrence regarding her false implication". "Had the accused been innocent, she would have raised hue and cry against her false implication to the higher police officer. No plausible explanation or justification is forth coming from the side of the accused". The court observed that even no private witness has been examined by the accused to prove her innocence and even the accused herself has not stepped into the witness box to support her defence plea.