Mail News Service
Jamshedpur, Mar 27: In a landmark judgment, the court of Principal Judge Anil Kumar Mishra-I sentenced four ganja smugglers, including a truck driver, to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh under the NDPS Act. In case of non-payment of the fine, the convicts will have to serve an additional six months in prison.
The convicted individuals are Shailendra Rai, Mithun Rai (from Samastipur, Bihar), Ajit Rai alias Ajay Kumar (from Vaishali, Bihar), Manoj Bira (from Rayagada, Odisha) and truck driver-cum-owner Aseem Khan (from Bilaspur, Rampur, Uttar Pradesh).
Aseem Khan received an additional 20-year sentence and another Rs 2 lakh fine under Section 25 of the NDPS Act. The court reached this verdict after hearing testimonies from six witnesses.
On November 25, 2021, Meena Kumar, Intelligence Officer of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Ranchi, received a tip-off about a truck (Registration No. UK-06-CB-3141) smuggling ganja hidden beneath salt sacks. Acting on this information, a joint team consisting of Junior Officer Rakesh Kumar Goswami, Rajiv Ranjan, Constable Surendra Kumar and Baharagora Police set up an operation near Chekanaka Petrol Pump.
Upon intercepting the truck, the police found three individuals in the cabin and one in the helper’s seat. During the search, the team discovered 41 golden-brown packets containing a total of 425.5 kg of ganja. An FIR was lodged on November 27, 2021.
