10-yr jail term in opium smuggling case, co-accused declared PO

Hisar: In a nearly seven-year-old opium smuggling case, the court of additional sessions judge Hemant Yadav in Fatehabad sentenced the accused to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment, along with imposing a fine of Rs 1 lakh. The co-accused was declared a proclaimed offender for failing to appear before the court.According to district attorney Devendra Mittal, a case was registered on April 17, 2019, at Ratia police station under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act on the complaint of inspector Ravish Kumar.The court convicted Dashrath alias Kamal, a resident of Nariya Khurd village in Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh, after finding him guilty of possessing a commercial quantity of contraband. Police arrested him from the bus stand in Chimmo village with 3.5 kg of opium.During interrogation, Dashrath disclosed that he worked as a driver for Suraj Singh alias Govind, a resident of Lukachiniya village in Mandsaur district, Madhya Pradesh. He told police that Suraj Singh allegedly supplied him with the opium and assigned him the task of delivering it on commission.Police later arrested Suraj Singh, but after securing bail, he failed to appear in court proceedings. Consequently, the court declared him a proclaimed offender on March 25, 2025.The court, after examining the evidence and hearing arguments from both sides, convicted Dashrath and awarded the sentence as per the provisions of the NDPS Act. MSID:: 128425337 413 |