Baramulla, Aug 21 (KNO): A Special Court in Baramulla acquitted two men accused of trafficking 300 kilograms of poppy straw following a trial lasting nearly three years.
The court found the prosecution failed to provide conclusive evidence to prove the charges against Ashiq Hussain Mughloo and Jahangir Ahmad Lone, both from Khushalpora Chanad, Baramulla.
As per the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), the accused were taken into custody in November 2022 after being stopped at a police checkpoint at Zangam Crossing, Pattan.
Police alleged the two were transporting 11 sacks of poppy straw in an Alto car, intended for sale among youth. A case was registered under Sections 8, 15, and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, alongside FIR 313/2022, at Pattan Police Station, police had said.
The charge sheet was submitted in January 2023. During the trial, testimonies were given by ten prosecution witnesses, including the naka in-charge PSI, police personnel present during the arrest, the investigating officer (former SHO of Pattan), and an executive magistrate.
However, these testimonies contained contradictions regarding key details. For instance, some witnesses stated all 11 bags were inspected and opened on the spot, while others claimed only one bag was opened, with the rest taken to the police station unopened.
Conflicting accounts were also given about the source of the weighing machine used to measure the seized substance. Witnesses alternately testified it was brought from the police station, provided by a shopkeeper or delivered by a constable on the investigating officer’s instructions.
Further doubts were raised when photographs of the seized items showed unsealed sacks, which witnesses admitted were prepared solely for photographic evidence.
The court said that the procedures mandated by Section 52A of the NDPS Act were not followed. This section requires samples to be drawn and sealed immediately in the presence of the accused and independent witnesses.
In this case, the accused person’s signatures were missing from the recovery and seizure documents and no independent witnesses from the checkpoint were involved.
Additional concerns were noted about the custody of the seized material.
The prosecution did not present the Malkhana register or call the officer in charge to confirm the material’s safe custody.
The chain of custody of samples sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory was also not properly established, as key personnel involved in forwarding and carrying the samples were not examined.
The court ruled that the presumption of guilt under the NDPS Act could not be applied without solid proof of recovery and possession. It concluded that the prosecution’s case was inconsistent and failed to meet the necessary standard of proof.
Consequently, the court ordered the immediate release of both accused unless they are required for other cases and directed that the seized drugs be destroyed after the appeal period expires.
The state was represented by Special Public Prosecutor Akhter Rasool Dar, while the accused appeared through video call from District Jail Baramulla during the judgment—(KNO)