Liquor bottles missing or empty, court slams police

NEW DELHI: A trial court has directed the DCP Crime Branch to register an FIR against some policemen for “playing fraud” on the court by misusing its seal and tampering with case property, which, in this case, were liquor bottles.
The court was hearing a 2005 case on illegal transport of liquor bottles by the accused, Veerpal, from Haryana to Delhi.The court found that many liquor bottles were empty and some were even missing when the case property was produced in court . Calling it a major “goof-up” on the part of police, Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Soni Agnihotri acquitted Veerpal in the case registered under section 61 of the Punjab Excise Act.
“I direct DCP Crime Branch to inquire into the goof-up with regard to production of case property. He is directed to take departmental action against officials responsible for production and upkeep of case property and file further report. He is also directed to lodge FIR against official concerned after making inquiry as fraud has been played upon court and misuse of court seal has been done,” the judge said.
Stating that the accused deserved benefit of the doubt, the court also pointed out other discrepancies in the prosecution’s case and added that it cannot be ruled out that evidence was planted upon Veerpal. The incident had allegedly taken place on January 20, 2005 when Veerpal, in an ambassador car, was trying to transport 20 cartons containing 12 bottles each of different kinds of liquor. Police had said that it had sent one bottle each from these cartons to forensic laboratory for examination and the cartons, containing 11 bottles each, were sealed and deposited in a malkhana.
The judge figured there was something wrong with the prosecution’s case when it found that the case property—that is liquor bottles— were produced in two different conditions on different occasions and therefore, there was absolute contradiction in the statement of two cops, who were both crucial prosecution witnesses (PW) in the case.