A Special Court in Rupnagar, Punjab, has sentenced each of three drug traffickers to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 2 lakh, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) said. The NCB's Chandigarh Zonal Unit secured the convictions in a case dating back to 2021, in which 3.65 kg of charas was found concealed inside a car's speaker system.

Source: IANS via The Freedom Press

The convicted men are Kuldeep Singh, alias Golu, and Sanjeev Kumar, alias Mithoo — both residents of Nabha in Patiala district — and Ashok Kumar, a resident of Patiala/Chandigarh. The case was registered as NCB Crime No. 46/2021.

According to the NCB, acting on specific intelligence, its team kept surveillance on the Sirhind-Patiala Road in Morinda, Rupnagar district, on July 1, 2021, and intercepted a car matching the input. During the search, officials found seven packets of round and finger-shaped charas concealed inside a speaker fitted in the car's boot. The 3.65 kg seizure is a commercial quantity under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and all three occupants were arrested on the spot.

Source: Nation Press

In its judgment dated October 21, the Special Court, presided over by Judge Lukhvinder Kaur Duggal, convicted the three under Section 20(C) and Section 29 read with Section 20 of the NDPS Act, holding that the mandatory provisions of the Act had been duly complied with. Sentencing was pronounced on October 22: each convict was fined Rs 1 lakh under Section 20(C) and a further Rs 1 lakh under Section 29 read with Section 20 — Rs 2 lakh in total per person — and in default of payment of each fine they face an additional two years of rigorous imprisonment. The substantive sentences will run concurrently.

While pronouncing the sentence, the court referred to Supreme Court observations on the severe societal impact of narcotics offences, and directed the initiation of confiscation proceedings under Section 60 of the NDPS Act against the vehicle used to transport the contraband.

The NCB reiterated its commitment to the government's 'Nasha Mukt Bharat' (Drug-Free India) vision and urged the public to report drug trafficking through the MANAS National Narcotics Helpline at toll-free number 1933, assuring that the identity of informants will be kept strictly confidential.