Court Acquits Two, Including Tortured Cop, in NDPS Case

SRINAGAR: The Principal Sessions Judge Kupwara, Manjeet Singh Manhas, has discharged two accused, including police constable Khursheed Ahmad Chohan, in a narcotics case registered under the NDPS Act, citing lack of sufficient evidence, contradictory forensic reports, and procedural lapses that cast serious doubt on the prosecution’s version.

Police had registered an FIR vide number 17/2023 at Police Station Karnah under Sections 8, 21 and 29 of the NDPS Act. The case had alleged recovery of 2.674 kilograms of heroin from Panjtran village of Karnah. The court observed that the evidence produced by the prosecution was inconsistent and failed to meet the legal threshold for framing charges.

According to the court’s findings, the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) Srinagar initially reported the seized material as negative for narcotics, while a later Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) Chandigarh report claimed it was heroin. Terming the two reports “diametrically opposite,” the court held that such contradictions went to the root of the prosecution’s case and, as per settled law, the benefit of doubt must go to the accused. The judge further noted the absence of direct evidence linking the accused with possession or conspiracy.

Both Farooq Hussain Shah and Khursheed Ahmad Chohan as per the news agency Kashmir News Trust were discharged under Section 227 of the CrPC, while proceedings against the absconding accused Raja Zahoor Akbar will continue under Section 299 CrPC.

The case had drawn national attention after Khursheed Ahmad Chohan, a serving police constable, alleged brutal torture while in custody during the course of the NDPS investigation. The Supreme Court of India had ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the allegations of custodial violence. Acting on the court’s directions, the CBI booked and arrested several police officials, including a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), and other personnel, for their alleged involvement in the torture.

The Supreme Court also directed compensation for Chohan and emphasized accountability for custodial abuses, terming the alleged acts “shocking to the conscience.” The CBI investigation into the custodial torture remains ongoing even as the Sessions Court has now discharged Chohan of all NDPS-related charges. [KNT]